Center Drive Media Appoints Fernando Hernandez As EVP Of Development

EXCLUSIVE: Fernando Hernandez has joined Center Drive Media, which owns and operates the Emmy-winning non-fiction banner Triage Entertainment and is an equity partner in Lando Entertainment, as Executive Vice President of Development.

In his role at Center Drive, Hernandez will lead all content development across production labels. He will be joined at the company by Ryan Miller and Brennan Huntington—new hires he’s previously worked with that will serve as SVPs. All three additions to Center Drive will work alongside SVP Ashley Hoff, who is also serving as an exec producer on several upcoming Triage documentaries.

“Fernando has excelled at leading studio divisions, in part, because he knows what it takes to actually create and produce successful series from the ground up,” said Center Drive Media CEO Stu Schreiberg.

“I’m excited to be joining a proven company like Center Drive Media which allows for so many opportunities to leverage existing partnerships, and along with our incredible team of proven developers, bring a new slate of big formats to the marketplace,” added Hernandez. “Together, we can further build upon the company’s already impressive output.”

Hernandez is a veteran showrunner who formerly held positions as Head of Alternative at Universal Television and ABC Studios, there developing and overseeing such successful franchises as Hollywood Game Night, Last Comic Standing and World of Dance.

Miller previously held executive positions in development at NBC Studios and ABC Studios. Then, there’s Huntington, who comes to CDM with extensive experience as a producer and ‘format doctor’ for multiple networks and platforms.

Center Drive Media’s production companies Triage Entertainment and Lando Entertainment have collectively produced more than 4,000 hours of premium, primetime programming, distributed in over 100 countries. CDM’s early 2022 content slate includes a multi-hour documentary series on the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, which in 2017 became the site of the deadliest mass shooting in American history, for Paramount+/CBS; the iconic paranormal series Sightings, which will relaunch with a series of single-topic documentaries, in partnership with CBS Productions; original comedy specials for Netflix from Sebastian Maniscalco, Gabriel Iglesias and Taylor Tomlinson; a new, supersized season of Food Network’s highest-rated series, Tournament of Champions, hosted by Guy Fieri; a feature documentary on the controversial literary giant, Norman Mailer; and four new series expansions of The Baking Championships for Food Network.

“We continue to deepen and diversify our ability to produce premium series across multiple genres,” said Schreiberg. “Despite the production challenges of Covid, we were able to deliver over 150 hours of programming for multiple networks and platforms in 2021, and we hope to accelerate our growth with several acquisitions in 2022.”

Center Drive also continues to maintain a long-time strategic partnership with Levity Live, which owns The Improv and its nationwide network of live comedy venues, as well as Levity Talent, which manages many A-list and emerging comedy artists. The company is represented by UTA.