Alexandra Patsavas (born 1968) is a Grammy and Emmy nominated Americanmusic supervisor,producer, &executive who has worked on over 100 films and television series, most notablyThe Twilight Saga,The O.C.,Grey's Anatomy,Gossip Girl,Mad Men,Bridgerton, andCODA.
Patsavas was born inChicago, Illinois and is ofGreek descent. Although influenced by parents’ musical tastes, which ranged from rock to opera, Patsavas was more interested in studying politics until her high school years when she developed an interest in music,[1] attending rock concerts, buyingLPs and being "the kid with the bad '80s haircut who went to all the clubs and shows".[2]
She has worked in the music department of over sixty different films and television series. From there she joined the BMI music agency,[3] then worked onRoger CormanB-movies,made-for-television movies and other films. In1999 she finally broke into television, with her own music companyChop Shop Music Supervision, on the seriesRoswell and began to work primarily on TV series, includingCarnivàle,Fastlane,Boston Public,Tru Calling,1-800-Missing andCriminal Minds, as well as the filmHappy, Texas. In2007 alone, she covered dozens of episodes of the seriesWithout a Trace,Shark,Rescue Me andMad Men. Her most notable work has been on the seriesThe O.C.,Grey's Anatomy and its spin-offPrivate Practice,Supernatural,Chuck,Gossip Girl,Scandal,Riverdale,Lucifer,Inventing Anna andBridgerton, for which she was nominated for anEmmy.[4][5]
Her work onThe O.C. involved the selecting, mixing and supervising of all the tracks that featured in the show, as well as on thesix soundtracks that followed.[6] Her work was also substantially made up of approaching bands and artists about recording covers and requesting licensing permission to include songs on the show and in the mixes.[7] Because her ongoing search for suitable songs often leads to unsigned or non-mainstream performers,[8] she is partially responsible for re-surfacing the trend of music promotion through television sinceThe Flaming Lips's appearance inBeverly Hills, 90210, particularly onGrey's Anatomy with songs such asSnow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" andThe Fray's "How to Save a Life", which both saw huge success after being featured in the show.[1][9] Following this trend was theBeastie Boys' single "Ch-Check It Out" which debuted in an episode ofThe O.C., even before its premiere on the radio.[10]Josh Schwartz, who originally hired Patsavas forThe O.C., which he created, re-hired her forGossip Girl andChuck, both of which he created, after seeing the success that she brought to bothThe O.C. and the songs and artists featured in it.[11] Her work onGossip Girl brought in many New York-orientated bands (for the show's setting) and other popular songs includingFergie's "Glamorous" for the series' promotional video.[12] She recently was music supervisor on Marvel's Runaways, also produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.[13]
In 2007Chop Shop Music Supervision, opened its own music labelChop Shop Records, in a deal withAtlantic Records, later moving toUniversal Records.[4] The label's roster included Anya Marina, Scars on 45 (both of whom were featured on Grey's Anatomy), Macintosh Braun,Milo Greene, The Republic Tigers and the Twilight soundtracks.[14] In addition to the Twilight Series, Patsavas has also worked on many films includingHunger Games: Catching Fire,Perks of Being a Wallflower,Wonder,A Futile and Stupid Gesture,Warm Bodies,Moxie and more recently the Oscar winnerCODA.[15]
Patsavas has been nominated three times for aGrammy Award for the "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media". Her first nomination was for the compilationGrey's Anatomy Original Soundtrack, Vol. 2, the only television soundtrack in the category, shared with producer Mitchell Leib and the various artists that were featured in the album.[16] Her other nominations (both with Paul Katz) were for theTwilight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack andThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), each of which were released on her label Chop Shop Records.[17][18][19]
She was also a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[20] She also served as Chair of the Board of Musicares following 10 years as an officer and board member of the charitable arm of the Recording Academy.[4]
In 2020 Patsavas joined Netflix in the newly created role of director/music creative production for original series overseeing Netflix's creative music services and production strategy for original series.[4]
In the season 5 episode of the HBO showGirls titled "Hello Kitty," the characters Marnie and Desi learn that their song has been chosen by Patsavas to appear in an upcoming episode ofGrey’s Anatomy, which they anticipate will change their lives.[21]
Patsavas labels herself as a member of "the firstMTV Generation",[22] and lists her inspirational musical influences asHenry Mancini,David Holmes,Elvis Costello andAhmet Ertegün.[1]
