Celebrated producer and writer Kenya Barris will be honored with the Producers Guild of America’s 2019 Visionary Award. Barris will accept the award at the 30th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, January 19, 2019, at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.

The Producers Guild Visionary Award recognizes television, film, or new media producers for inspiring storytelling of unique and uplifting vision or quality to our culture. 

Barris is being recognized with the Visionary Award as a trailblazing storyteller whose work has advanced and expanded the representation of diverse perspectives within mainstream media. As the creator of the hit, Peabody award-winning and Emmy-nominated® series “Black-ish,” along with its successful spin-off series “Grown-ish,” and the writer of last summer’s comedy blockbuster “Girls Trip,” Barris has earned praise for honest portrayals of the Black experience that have not only resonated with a broad spectrum of audiences but have continually served as a catalyst for conversations around an array of timely topics. Through his work, Barris has fearlessly tackled difficult social issues, poignantly reflected our culture, and unified audiences through powerful stories that highlight our shared humanity.

“Kenya Barris is simply a fearless producer,” read a joint statement from PGA presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher.  “Time and again, Kenya has stepped up to tackle the difficult conversations, from the ones we have as families at the kitchen table to the ones we have as colleagues in company boardrooms and network offices.  These are challenging days for many of us, but Kenya’s unique voice—honest, passionate and so very funny—has been one of our industry’s strongest antidotes to ignorance and intolerance.  We are gratified to recognize his inspiring work with the Visionary Award.”

Previous honorees include: producer and director Ava DuVernay; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner’s Plan B Entertainment; producer and founder of Illumination Entertainment Chis Meledandri; producer Laura Ziskin; and Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll.