Executive Bios

McCarthy is a brand builder - of IP and platforms. There is no genre she has not explored and re-invented. Here’s how:

Lifetime  

2018 - 2021 

Executive Vice President, Head of Programming, Unscripted 

McCarthy brought Married at First Sight (MAFS) with her to Lifetime and won the Critic’s Choice Award. It became the highest rated, most social and upscale series on the network.  She developed and produced Marrying Millions, Bride & Prejudice: Forbidden Love, and Love at First Flight within her Relationship vertical, and expanded the MAFS universe with spin-off content including MAFS: Couples Cam which she created in the midst of Covid-19.  

FYI  

2013 - 2018 

Executive Vice President, Head of Programming 

McCarthy launched FYI, a new lifestyle brand for A+E Networks. She created the brand’s popular voice and pipeline within 10 months. Her inventive approach to Lifestyle content spanned three genres - Relationships, Home and Food - and generated immediate audience and buzz.  McCarthy developed, produced and launched the award-winning Married at First Sight (MAFS) .  McCarthy then developed original global formats Seven Year Switch and Bride & Prejudice, and docu-follow series Arranged. McCarthy’s launch series for the Home vertical, Tiny House Nation, became a brand-definitional hit. She expanded the IP through Tiny House Hunting and Tiny House World, and created the format Zombie House Flipping among others. Man vs Child, Man vs Master and the popular Epic Meal Empire anchored FYI’s Food slate. 

Lifetime 

2010 - 2013 

Senior Vice President, Reality and Alternative 

McCarthy developed, green-lit and formatted the brand’s breakthrough hit, Dance Moms, within her first year. It remains the brand’s most lucrative Unscripted property. She expanded the Dance Moms universe with Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, and produced the buzzy social experiment format, The Week the Women Went.  She developed and produced Preachers’ Daughters and developed Bring It!  McCarthy oversaw production of multiple seasons of the Emmy-winning Project Runway and developed and oversaw its spin-off series, Project Runway All-Stars. 

Discovery Channel 

2008 - 2010 

Senior Vice President, Development and Production

In her return to the flagship brand, McCarthy oversaw the creation and execution of more than 500 annual hours of prime time series and specials, including Stormchasers, Man vs. Wild, and Pitchmen with Billy Mays. She created the hit franchise Dual Survival, developed and launched the Emmy-winning Out of the Wild and social experiment The Colony. 

We-tv  

2006 - 2008 

Vice President, Development and Production 

She created the hit signature series My Fair Wedding, and grew the performance of returning series Bridezillas. She developed and launched the popular documentary series High School Confidential, The Locator, Women Behind Bars and grew the anthology documentary series, Secret Lives of Women. 

Discovery Channel 

2004 – 2006 

Executive Producer 

McCarthy served as EP for:  Emmy-nominated Dirty Jobs (she was the first EP on the series), Emmy-nominated Deadliest Catch, Emmy-nominated Mythbusters, and Discovery’s annual Shark Week. 

TLC 

1998 – 2004 

Executive Producer 

She co-developed and executive produced multiple series and specials including the acquisition and launch of genre-bending UK factual format, Junkyard Wars. She produced Junkyard Mega-Wars and fellow RDF format, Faking It; and developed and produced the robot battle format Robotica . Lifestyle formats she developed and produced include In a Fix, For Better or For Worse and the Royal Wedding Live. 

WQED – PBS Pittsburgh 

1994 - 1998 

Manager of Development and Production 

McCarthy worked on national children’s series including the Carmen Sandiego franchises - Where in the World, and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?