Julia Carias

Julia Carias-Linares is a partner and CEO of Freedom Studios Inc. She is a television, film and digital producer, actress, real estate stager, interior designer, and businesswoman. Carias-Linares' expertise is in sourcing projects, developing talent and securing intellectual properties. As a television executive she has worked for three of A+E Television Networks' brands - Lifetime, A&E and fyi,. She was part of the development and programming core team that successfully re-branded the Biography channel to fyi, into the number one upscale entertainment network on ad-supported cable in 2015. She produced some of the top-rated series for the network including Married Life (2017 Primetime Emmy Consideration), Married At First Sight (2015 Critics Choice Awards Nominee), Seven Year Switch and many more. In 2019, she executive produced and starred in the short film, Perception, a story about immigration from two points of view. The film was a festival favorite receiving 14 awards including 2 for "Best Lead Actress" in a drama and over 20 nominations. In 2020, Perception received a distribution deal by Amazon Prime and PiccenPlay.com. In 2019 and 2020 she executive produced the OMNI Cultural TV Fest in partnership with NATPE (National Association of Television Program Executives), a one-day event for independent content creators to showcase their ideas to TV and Over-The-Top (OTT) distributors. In 2017, Carias-Linares, executive produced Kiki Mobile a reality, mobile entertainment news magazine series, covering celebrity interviews, set visits, and red carpets. In September 2016, she successfully produced Latin Hollywood Films and Latin Heat Media Institute's first-ever independent television sizzle reel upfront in NYC & LA - events that showcased eleven original presentations across genres with multicultural talent in-front and behind-the-camera for the general market. Exactly a year and two days from the sizzle reel upfront, she brokered a 13-episode deal for one of the concepts on A+E Television Networks. Carias-Linares served as digital producer for the 2012 Napa Valley Film Festival, under the Feast It Forward Network, handling red carpet coverage and celebrity interviews. She has produced for BET Networks and the National Council of La Raza's 2010 Vote For Respect campaign. As a fearless entrepreneur, Carias-Linares is known for creating opportunities for herself which is why is not surprising she leveraged her love for interior design and background in television home shows to do her first million-dollar listing home staging project. In December 2016, she teamed up with her husband, Alfredo Linares and launched JCL Staging & Design, a well sought out brand by top producing brokers in the luxury residential real estate market in the New York tri-state area. JCL has designed for A+E Television Networks, History Channel and Discovery's TLC channel. She studied acting at the renowned American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. Committed to giving back to her community, she donates countless hours to many community driven causes. She sits on the Executive Board of Directors for the 100 Hispanic Women, Westchester Chapter - a national organization that promotes enrichment opportunities and support young women aspirations for higher education. She is a member of the Executive Peer Group for the Television Academy, a member of the New York Women in Film and Television and while at A+E Nets, she was part of the MIT (Multicultural Insight Team) a group dedicated to promoting multicultural inclusion that impacts the company's programming and culture. She is married to Alfredo Linares and lives in New York.