Pitch ​Catherine Keithley-Lawson (Wednesday, December 17th 2025)

• About ​Catherine Keithley-Lawson
• Pitching Tips

Catherine Keithley Lawson is an Emmy Award-winning Producer and Senior Vice President of Current & Development at Brian Graden Media. Catherine joined BGM as the first development hire at the company’s inception in 2013. Since 2013, Catherine has produced season 1 of Tastemade’s Street Somm, season 1 & 2 of Create Together with Joseph Gordon Levitt (Emmy Winner), season 1 & 2 of Instant Influencer, seasons 1-4 of Escape the Night, Band Together with Logic (Emmy Nominated), all for YouTube Originals, Ms. T’s Music Factory for Lifetime, Walk of Shame Shuttle on VH1, & Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding on E!.

Catherine has developed hundreds of shows for broadcast, cable and major streaming networks with tens of them selling through to development, casting, and as pilots. Before joining BGM, Catherine was a Development Associate for Ellen Rakieten (Executive Producer for The Oprah Winfrey Show and Red Table Talk for Facebook) & Tom Forman (Executive Producer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition & Catfish: The TV Show) at Ellen Rakieten Entertainment, a division of Critical Content. During her time at Critical Content (formerly Relativity), she helped develop shows such as Emmy Award winning Trisha’s Southern Kitchen (Food Network), Celebrity Dish (Food Network), & Pretty Wicked Moms (Lifetime).

Before entering television development, Catherine worked in talent management at The Collective Management Firm (now Studio 71). In this role, she focused on casting & bookings for upcoming scripted television shows & feature films as well as overall day to day management. Before The Collective, Catherine worked at MTV Networks in Digital Marketing & The Food Network as a Production Assistant.

Catherine graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in
Communication. Catherine is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and resides in Santa
Clarita.

 

Catherine specializes in Unscripted Television and is currently listening to pitches for Reality, Variety, Crime Docs, Game Shows of All Genres with Strong-on-camera, Credible Characters for TV and Digital/Streaming.

 

Credits include:

Tips on pitching to ​Catherine Keithley-Lawson

Pitching unscripted content is different than pitching scripted material. We recently spoke with Catherine for some insight into what she likes to see in a reality pitch:

• "Reality needs credible characters with big personality like Abby Lee Miller, Anthony Bourdain, Rob Dyrdek - they set the bar. A good example of a character Stage 32 brought us a couple months ago was Chef Ian Sherlock, he is a strong, credible chef who definitely has hosting chops!"

• "Think ahead of time who the right buyer is... does your show belong on History channel or Freeform? VH1 or Lifetime? This helps make a pitch stronger if you have thought this through."

• "Any show with existing footage or a sizzle reel is a big plus. Materials shows you have thought out what an episode looks like, what TV moments are, the format, payoff, etc. Television is a formula, and it's important you know their formula before pitching us if possible."

NOTE: to submit a sizzle reel or show deck/bible before you pitch, please reach out with advanced notice to writerhelp@stage32.com

Guidelines

• You may only pitch ONE project per reservation. Execs are looking for projects they can develop, NOT portfolios.
• You should have a completed script available upon request for the project you pitch.
• Do not reach out to the executives unless directed by Stage 32. They do NOT accept unsolicited material or appreciate being cold-called/emailed by strangers.
• Missed reservations are not refundable and will not be rescheduled.

Live Pitches

Within 15 minutes of your scheduled pitch, the exec will reach out by Zoom or Phone. Your pitch session will last approximately 8 minutes.

Written Pitches

Written Pitches will be no more than 2 pages submitted as a PDF or WORD document. Any written pitch uploaded past the deadline will not be shown to the executive and will result in a non-refundable forfeiture of your pitch.

Scorecards

Within 3-4 weeks of your pitch session, you will receive a Pitch Scorecard on which the exec you pitched will provide pitch feedback and note if they are PASSing, or would like to REQUEST your material.

If you are requested, you will be notified via email with further instructions. The execs will have 2-3 months to review your material and note if they are PASSing, or would like a MEETING. If a meeting is requested, we will introduce you via email.

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Please understand that these are working executives, and their schedules are subject to change at a moment's notice. We always strive to give you at least 24 hours of notice if a session has been cancelled, and we will recommend another executive for you to pitch your material to.

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Need help with your pitch?
Download the Stage 32 Pitching Guidebook

Questions or Concerns?
WriterHelp@Stage32.com

What Can Stage 32 Pitch Sessions Do For You?

Whether you're preparing to find (or switch) representation, go out with a feature or TV script to production companies, studios, streamers, networks, investors or buyers, Stage 32 Pitch Sessions are a great first step to make sure you are on the right track.

Stage 32 has cultivated professional relationships with over 3,000 industry professionals including managers, agents, development executives, producers, investors and other executives and professionals across the industry who listen to pitches from the Stage 32 community. For these executives and pros, Stage 32 has become the place to discover new talent and material.

How it Works

It’s simple. You simply pick the executive you’d like to pitch to. You can choose to pitch either via Zoom or through a written pitch.

Your executive will give you feedback on the pitch and ask and answer questions in real time. You will learn what works and doesn't work with your material and you can continue to hone your script and pitch as you prepare to go to market.

Then, within 3 weeks, you will receive a scorecard outlining various aspects of your pitch including Pitch Delivery/Format, Clarity of Pitch, Set Up of Protagonist(s) & World, Obstacles & Conflict, Clarity of Tone, Originality of Concept and Strength of Voice.

Further, you will receive an industry standard PASS or REQUEST for your project. If you receive a request for your script OR if the executive requests a meeting (or both!), we will facilitate the arrangement!

For over a decade, Stage 32 writers have secured tens of thousands of script requests and thousands of meetings with industry professionals as a result of pitching through Stage 32. These requests and meetings have led to thousands of success stories including writers securing representation, sales, paid options, produced films, open writing assignments, writers room jobs and much more. You can check out our success stories here!

Your Zoom Pitch Format

In our Zoom or Phone pitches, you will pitch directly with the executive through Zoom or via telephone. Your pitch will be 8 minutes in total. It is up to you on how you want to use your time, but we recommend you spend 5-6 minutes to pitch your project, which will allow for 2-3 minutes of executive questions and feedback.

Your Written Pitch Format

Written Pitches must be no longer than 2 pages submitted as a PDF or WORD document. Your written pitch should include the name of the script, logline, format (feature film or TV pilot) and genre. From there, you’ll want to lay out the main points of your story and character arcs to create and present a clear, concise narrative.

Stage 32 Pitching Tips

Both live and written pitch sessions follow industry standards and are designed to present your pitch to working executives. They will provide you with meaningful, actionable guidance to not only improve the work and the pitch, but to help you best position your work for the marketplace. So please come fully prepared.

Once you sign up for your pitch session you will be given educational resources to help you best prepare your pitch which include example pitch beat sheets for both feature film & TV verbal pitches, examples of both written and feature film written pitches, as well as an example video Zoom pitch.

Code of Conduct

This is a professional environment and you are pitching to seasoned executives. Decorum is important. Please adhere to the guidelines below.

1. Do not ask the executive if they want to read your script during the pitch.
2. Do not reach out to an executive outside of the Stage 32 platform. This is highly unprofessional and will result in being disqualified from pitching again.
3. Stage 32 works directly with our executives. If there is interest in your script or a meeting request, we will facilitate the request.

You’ve worked so hard on your material, we couldn’t be more excited for you to present the work to your executive. We have no doubt that by following the guidelines above, you’re going to do fantastic!

Best wishes with your pitch.

And remember, if you ever have any questions from choosing an executive to which of our services may be right for you, never hesitate to reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com - We’re here to help…always!