Stacey Abrams Picks Ex-CBS Exec Adriana Martínez Barrón To Head Film & TV Unit For Sage Works Production Banner

Dominic Patten
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Having already portrayed the President of United Earth on Star Trek: Discovery and shifted the political landscape here in America more than once, Stacey Abrams is expanding her production company with a heavy-hitter hire.

Former CBS Drama Series Development VP Adriana Martínez Barrón is joining Abrams’ Sage Works as the Head of Film and Television, I have learned.

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“I am delighted to welcome the immense talents of Adriana as our new Head of Film and Television, as we continue to grow our slate and our reach,” Abrams said Tuesday of the new addition to her team. “As a storyteller and avid consumer of media, I created Sage Works Productions because entertainment allows us to identify our most complex challenges and craft creative solutions that inspire and transform.”

The feeling is clearly mutual.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Stacey to bring her vision to life,” said Martínez Barrón, who will report directly to Abrams. “ I look forward to continuing to advocate for and elevate vibrant, dynamic stories, through characters who are as varied and progressive as the audiences they serve.”

Sage Works Productions was formed by Abrams, the two-time Georgia governor candidate, in 2020. Abrams and Sage Works are both represented by UTA.

Prior to boarding her VP role overseeing CBS’ primetime development slate in early 2022 , Martínez Barrón was VP Film at Eva Longoria’s Unbelievable Entertainment production shingle. Before that, the former CBS diversity writing program mentor and LFI Inclusion Fellowship mentor was Netflix’s manager of Latin American original series and content acquisitions, running point on projects in markets like Spain, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

Nominated for an Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance Emmy for the October 4, 2020 Election Special Part 2 episode of Black-ish, Abrams was also shortlisted for Joe Biden’s VP slot that same year. The bestselling author is also political juggernaut for her get-out-the-vote campaigns.

Abrams was the star and producer of 2020’s All In: The Fight for Democracy. The Amazon Prime Video documentary directed by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lisa Cortés tracked the ongoing voter-suppression crisis in America.

With lots of evidence to back her up, Abrams claimed the GOP’s use of voter suppression denied her the Peach State governorship in 2018, where she lost by 50,000 votes to winner Brian Kemp. A rematch between the two in 2022 saw Kemp reelected after an eleventh-hour endorsement by Donald Trump. Unlike in 2018, Abrams officially conceded the 2022 election.

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