Eva Longoria and Cris Abrego Launch Hyphenate Media Group With Backing From Banijay

Publish date: 2024-02-28

New venture acquires Longoria's UnbeliEVAble Entertainment; Abrego to remain in Banijay exec role

Eva Longoria and Cris Abrego have known each other for 20 years. As two of entertainment’s most prominent Latino figures, they have developed a strong friendship around shared experiences and a similar passion for nurturing creative talent.

At long last, actor-director-producer Longoria and Abrego, the veteran unscripted producer and executive, have joined forces to launch Hyphenate Media Group, a company that will be part production company, part talent scouting agency and part business incubator. Banijay, where Abrego serves as chairman of the Americas, has made a strategic investment in the company. Abrego will remain in his executive role with the French production giant even as he devotes his time to building Hyphenate.

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“With Hyphenate Media Group, Eva and I are building an engine for culture-defining content by investing in visionary multi-hyphenate artists and providing these extraordinary creative leaders with the resources and infrastructure they need to scale their businesses,” Abrego said. “Through capital, brand development, and the leadership provided by Hyphenate, we will drive their creative output, enhance their deal-making capacity, and grow their brands, building franchises driven by original IP.”

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Abrego serves as co-founder and CEO of Hyphenate; Longoria is co-founder and chief creative officer. As part of the launch, Hyphenate has acquired Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment banner, which the “Desperate Housewives” star founded in 2005. The company’s active slate includes the upcoming Apple TV+ limited series “Land of Women,” which is shot and awaiting release.

“With Hyphenate Media Group, Cris and I are leveraging the power of the creative industry’s greatest resource, the multi-hyphenate, to help meet audiences and the industry where they are,” Longoria said. “We are answering the industry’s call for premium inclusive content with broad appeal and an undeniable point of view. Our intention is to provide greater financial participation for makers, creators, talent, and entrepreneurs — the Hyphenates. Given the multiple transformations that our business is undergoing, I cannot think of a better time to lean into makers, who are the essential drivers of the creative enterprise.”

Hyphenate intends to take a business development approach with creatives. Rather than work on a project-by-project basis, the company intends to invest directly in creative content banners led by promising talent who are hyphenates themselves – the kind of creators who look to do some combination of acting, writing, directing, producing and/or hosting. The focus will largely be on TV and film projects, but podcasting, short-form content and other mediums are vital to the generation of auteurs that Hyphenate wants to attract.

As Mexican Americans working in Hollywood, Abrego notes that he and Longoria both stress the significance of the company’s name and creative focus.

“Nobody opened doors for us in Hollywood. We had to make our own way,” Abrego told Variety. “There’s power in being a hyphenate, of all kinds.”

Hyphenate marks the first significant investment by Banijay in the development of scripted content, which at present is a crowded field. Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti cited the combined strengths of Abrego and Longoria as giving them confidence.

“Combining Cris’ standout creative leadership with Eva’s reputation as a celebrated producer, director, and activist, this is a powerful home where multi-hyphenate voices can truly tell inclusive mainstream stories,” Bassetti said. “And, with an ambitious vision, unrivaled credentials, and an impressive growth trajectory, this marks the perfect first strategic investment for us in the U.S. scripted market; a space we’d explored for some time but never, until now, found the right fit to cut through.”

Abrego and Longoria are in the process of assembling a management team for Hyphenate.

Longoria first made her mark as a star of ABC’s blockbuster drama “Desperate Housewives” and has since branched out as a director, producer, author, entrepreneur and activist. Her UnbeliEVAble banner produced the ABC dramedy “Grand Hotel,” the NBC comedy “Telenovela” and the Netflix docuseries “Reversing Roe.” She made her film directorial debut earlier this year with the Searchlight Pictures/Hulu dramedy “Flamin’ Hot.” Longoria was also tapped as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch for 2023.

Abrego got his start as a reality TV producer, delivering such enduring franchises as VH1’s “The Surreal Life” and “Flavor of Love.” He moved into the executive suite after Endemol acquired his production banner 51 Minds in 2008. Abrego has navigated a whirlwind of ownership changes at Endemol, most recently with its sale to Banijay in 2020. As chairman of Americas for Banijay, Abrego steers the company’s production and distribution activity across North, Central and South America. He is the author of 2016’s “Make It Reality: Create Your Opportunity, Own Your Success.”

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