Karen Gaviola is an American television producer and director. She is known for working across a wide stylistic range, spanning all genres of television: action, fantasy, intimate drama, crime procedurals and science fiction. Of note are the performances she gets from the actors in her episodes and her attention to story.
Early life and education Karen is a second-generation Filipina American. Her father was an aerospace engineer and her mother an accountant. She is a graduate of Immaculate Heart High School (Los Angeles) and Harvard College with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies.
Career Her break into the business came through acceptance into the Directors Guild of America Assistant Director Training Program. Upon graduation, she worked her way up as a freelance assistant director. Her directing break came on NYPD Blue.
Since then, Gaviola has directed over 150 TV episodes, including the shows The Boys, Gen V, The Walking Dead,Lucifer, Shadow and Bone, Empire, Sons of Anarchy, The Blacklist, Hawaii Five-0, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Grimm, Criminal Minds and Chicago Fire.Karen Gaviola, Yahoo! TV
She has also worked as a co-executive producer/director on a number of projects including Lucifer, Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and Love Is for Oprah Winfrey and Paper Girls.
Karen won the 2007 NAACP Image Award for directing the episode "The Whole Truth" of the ABC hit series Lost. Gaviola was also nominated for the 2013 WIN (Women's Image Network) Award for best directing of the "Georgia on My Mind" episode of the Shonda Rhimes series Private Practice.
Gaviola was elected in June 2013 to the National Board of the Directors Guild of America. She served four terms as a Board Member and three terms as a Board Alternate. She chaired the DGA Safety Committee, which produced the template for set safety standards in California, New York and Georgia. She is also active with the DGA TV Creative Rights Committee, the Women's Steering Committee, the Asian American Committee, and the Diversity Task Force. In 2022, Gaviola was named as co-chair of the 2023 DGA/AMPTP Negotiations Committee. She will be serving in that role again for the 2026 DGA/AMPTP negotiations. Karen is also a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and Film Independent.
Karen is also a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and Film Independent.
Filmography YearTitleNotes1999–2001NYPD Blue3 episodes2002 Providence1 episodeStrong Medicine1 episode2003–2009CSI: Miami16 episodes2004Cold Case2 episode2005The Inside1 episodeCSI: NY1 episodeMedical Investigation1 episodeClose to Home1 episode2006Crossing Jordan1 episodeAlias1 episodeJustice1 episodeBones1 episode2006–2007Lost2 episodes2006–2008Prison Break4 episodes2007The Unit1 episodeLincoln Heights1 episodeLaw & Order1 episodeCane1 episodeJourneyman1 episode2008Eleventh Hour1 episodeBrothers & Sisters1 episodeWithout a Trace2 episodes2009Ghost Whisperer1 episodeCriminal Minds2 episodesDark Blue2 episodesLie to Me1 episodeCastle1 episodeMiami Medical1 episode2010Private Practice1 episodeThe Forgotten1 episodeNCIS: Los Angeles1 episodeChase2 episodesThe Whole Truth2 episodes2011Private Practice1 episodeThe Cape1 episodeOff the Map1 episodeBlue Bloods1 episodeAlphas1 episodeUnforgettable1 episodeCriminal Minds1 episodeNCIS: Los Angeles2 episodesTerra Nova2 episodes2012 Private Practice2 episodesNCIS: Los Angeles1 episodesCriminal Minds1 episodeNikita1 episodeGrimm1 episodeSons Of Anarchy1 episode2013Criminal Minds1 episodeChicago Fire2 episodesChicago PD2 episodesCSI3 episodesGolden Boy1 episodeGrimm1 episode2014The Blacklist3 episodesLegends1 episodeThe Lottery1 episodeCriminal Minds1 episodeGotham1 episode2015The Blacklist1 episodeAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.1 episodeNCIS: Los Angeles1 episodeGrimm1 episodeSupergirl1 episodeHell on Wheels1 episodes2016Blindspot2 episodesNCIS: Los Angeles1 episodeGrimm1 episodeLucifer2 episodesAnimal Kingdom1 episode2017Lucifer3 episodesThe Gifted1 episodeEmpire1 episode2018Colony1 episodeLove Is1 episode 2018-2019Magnum P.I.2 episodes2019-2020Hawaii Five-06 episodesSoundtrack2 episodes Lucifer 1 episode 2021DebrisEpisode: "In Universe"Station 19Episode #54: "Here It Comes Again"Paper Girls 2 Episodes 2022The Walking Dead Episode: "Variant" 2023Shadow and Bone 2 Episodes2024Parish Episode: "A Good Man"The Boys Episode: "Life Among the Septics" Episode: "Dirty Business"2025Gen V Episode: "H is For Human" Episode: "The Kids Are Not All Right"2026The Boys Episode: "Every One of You Sons of Bitches" Episode: "King of Hell"
References
NAACP Image Award winners Official DGA website
External links
Official DGA website Karen Gaviola website