Banijay Opens Hollywood Doors to Minorities

variety.com:

Nick Clement Cris Abrego’s rise to the top of the ranks of the unscripted television world is a tale of passion and perseverance.

Born and raised in suburban El Monte, Calif., he is a second-generation Mexican American who fought hard to break into the entertainment industry 25 years ago.

Now, as chairman of the Americas for Paris-based Banijay, and president and CEO of Endemol Shine Holdings, Abrego is one of the highest-ranking Latino executives in Hollywood.“When I was younger, I couldn’t get a job in the industry,” Abrego says. “I had no connections, and even though we lived 24 miles from Hollywood, it was literally a different lifetime away.

I very much felt like an outsider and it was extremely difficult for people like me to find their way in.” His life changed when he joined the team at Bunim/Murray productions, which kick-started a new generation of reality television programming with “The Real World.” That show became a highly influential global hit, spawning legions of imitators, and busting open an entire genre. “I was working in Palm Springs at an NBC news affiliate, and after a couple of years, I made my way back to Los Angeles, and cut my teeth in unscripted programming at Bunim/Murray,” says Abrego. “Jonathan Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim are the people who gave me a chance to succeed in the industry, and they’ve always run a very inclusive company.” In his Banijay post, Abrego oversees nine production studios in North and Latin America that produce nearly 100 unscripted TV series each year.