Based in Los Angeles, the former Shed Media and High Noon executive will lead all creative efforts and growth strategies for the prodco. Among Spoke’s marquee projects are four Netflix series – including Hype House and the upcoming Goldin Auctions with Executive Producer Peyton Manning, as well as multiple series for Hulu, More Power for History, starring Tim Allen, and a slate of more than a dozen new series and projects.
Concurrently, Spoke Studios’ Will Nothacker, who has been key to development of the current slate, will return to his production roots in an expanded role as executive vice president of programming for Wheelhouse Entertainment, running the in-house production services and production management arm of the company. For Spoke Studios, Nothacker will work hand in hand with Healey; he will also work directly with Wheelhouse Entertainment’s other label heads on their projects.
Healey most recently served as general manager for nearly seven years at Warner Bros.’ Shed Media, and as EVP for nine years at lifestyle production company High Noon – developing, selling, producing and overseeing such series as Who Do You Think You Are? (NBC), 100 Humans (Netflix), Real Housewives of New York City (Bravo), First Dates (NBC), Cake Boss (TLC), Basketball Wives (VH1), Eric and Jessie (E!), Huda Boss (Facebook), Child Genius (Lifetime), Criminal Confessions (Oxygen), Tough Love (VH1), Fast Foodies (TruTV), Genius Junior (NBC), Mexican Dynasties (Bravo), Long Lost Family (TLC), Supernanny (Lifetime), and The Warriors of Liberty City (Starz), among others.
“We’re in a major moment of volatility and huge opportunity in the business, which is why Pam’s range across broadcast, cable, streaming, and producing makes her a great fit for Spoke,” said Wheelhouse Founder and CEO Brent Montgomery. “Very much like the early days at Leftfield, we’re focusing on locking great talent and expanding creatively, even when a lot of the industry is bracing and battening down the hatches. This strategy goes to the heart of Wheelhouse and aligns perfectly with Pam.”
Added Healey, “This has always been a hit-driven business and job one is seeking out those gems that can break through. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart and you have to be fearless and fortunate to have the support of great collaborators. I’m so impressed with what Brent and his team are building at Wheelhouse and am eager to dig into it all with everyone at Spoke.”
Netflix is doubling down on property.
The streamer has handed breakout reality series Selling Sunset a two season order – taking it through seasons six and seven and ordered a slate of new property, real estate and renovation shows.
Production on season six of high-end real estate series Selling Sunset, which follows the likes of Chrishell Stause, Christine Quinn and Mary Fitzgerald and their colleagues at The Oppenheim Group, will start later this summer.
The series, which is produced by Lionsgate and Done and Done Productions, is exec produced by creator Adam DiVello, Sundee Manusakis, Kristofer Lindquist, Skyler Wakil and Jason Oppenheim.
Elsewhere, the streamer has ordered four new shows and handed premiere dates to a slew of others in the property space.
Designing Miami, which premieres September 21, follows two of Miami’s two hottest designers who are competitors and husband and wife – Eilyn and Ray Jimenez. The eight-part series, produced by Wheelhouse’s Spoke Studios, is exec produced by Eric Wattenberg, Will Nothacker, Deanna Markoff and Luke Neslage.
Buying Beverly Hills, which premieres this fall, follows the agents and clients within Mauricio Umansky’s The Agency in Beverly Hills, California. Produced by Wheelhouse’s Spoke Studios and Just Entertainment, it is exec produced by Brent Montgomery, Will Nothacker, Justin W. Hochberg, Liz Fine, Adam Sher, Deanna Markoff, Ed Simpson, Michael Call, Steven Drieu and Sara Chamberlain.
Meanwhile, Critical Content has Instant Dream Home and Buy My House.
Instant Dream Home, which premieres August 10, is hosted by Danielle Brooks and is part home renovation show and part heist movie. It is exec produced by Tom Forman, George Verschoor, David Metzler, Jenny Daly, Jon Beyer, Bob Asher, Sue Langham, and Courtney Sanders.
Buy My House, which premieres this fall, follows homeowners from across America who come to sell their properties, on the spot, to one of four real-estate tycoons including Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, Corcoran Group CEO Pamela Liebman, NFL Linebacker Brandon Copeland, and investment property magnate Danisha Wrighster.
The six-part series is hosted by Nina Parker and exec produced by Tom Forman, Jenny Daly, Matthew Pickel, Moira Ross and Dan Morando.
Finally, the streamer has dated How To Build a Sex Room for July 8, the third season of Dream Home Makeover on July 27 and Selling Sunset spinoff Selling The OC on August 24.
How To Build a Sex Room follows luxury interior designer Melanie Rose helping couples to create stylish spaces where they can carry out any fantasy they wish. It comes from ITV America and High Noon Entertainment and is exec produced by Adam Sher, Jim Berger, Scott Feeley, Corrina Robbins and Sarah Howell.
SUNDAY
It’s case closed on the finale of the Victorian-era mystery drama “Miss Scarlet and the Duke” on “Masterpiece.” With Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin. 8 p.m. KOCE
Systemic racism, police brutality and other issues affecting the Africa American community are explored in the current-events series “Boiling Point” and “Disrupt & Dismantle.” 8 and 9 p.m. BET
The documentary “The Vaccine: Conquering Covid” spotlights the race to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control. 8 p.m. Discovery Channel; anytime, Discovery+
It’s case closed on the finale of the three-part true-crime docuseries “The Widower” from the producers of “Dateline NBC.” 9 p.m. NBC
Return with us now to Hope Valley for an eighth season of the frontier-era drama“When Calls the Heart.” With Erin Krakow. 9 p.m. Hallmark Channel
The four-part documentary “Allen v. Farrow” wades into the controversial child-sexual abuse allegations against filmmaker Woody Allen made by former creative and romantic partner Mia Farrow and others. 9 p.m. HBO
Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce: It’s McDonald’s versus Burger King on a new “The Food That Built America.” 9 p.m. History Channel
The documentary “Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine” charts the life, times and legal woes of the controversial, heavily-tattooed rapper. 10 p.m. Showtime
MONDAY
A baker will rise in a new season of the competition series “Spring Baking Championship.” With host Ali Khan. 9 p.m. Food Network
A struggling community in Sweden pins its hopes for a comeback on the local youth hockey team in the imported drama series “Beartown.” 9 p.m. HBO
Righteous! The documentary “Mr. SOUL!” on “Independent Lens” remembers Ellis Haizlip, host of a nationally syndicated 1960s-70s variety show whose guests included Black luminaries like Stevie Wonder, Cicely Tyson, James Baldwin and Muhammad Ali. 10 p.m. KOCE
Keep your shirt on! Comic Bert Kreischer is the Texas Rattlesnake’s next guest on “Straight Up Steve Austin.” 11:30 p.m. USA
TUESDAY
OK, boomer. A now gray-haired 60-something comic grouses and grumbles about a wide variety of topics in the stand-up special “Brian Regan: On the Rocks.” Anytime, Netflix
Gooooooooooal! The Brazilian soccer legend considered by many to be the greatest player of all time is saluted in the sports documentary “Pelé.” Anytime, Netflix
“Superman & Lois” are shacked up in the Man of Steel’s hometown of Smallville in this superhero drama set in the DC Arrowverse and starring “Supergirl’s” Tyler Hoechlin and “Grimm’s” Elizabeth Tulloch. A series preview follows. 8 and 9:30 p.m. The CW
Country roads, take them home: Country music stars Clint Black and Rosanne Cash shake their respective family trees on a new “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” 8 p.m. KOCE
The Busbys and all six of their XX-chromosome offspring return in an eighth season of the reality series “OutDaughtered.” 8 p.m. TLC
A desperate mother and her young daughter try to escape the clutches of a bizarre religious cult in the new drama “Tyler Perry’s Ruthless.” With Melissa L. Williams. 10 p.m. BET
It’s Tool Time, take two, as former “Home Improvement” costars Tim Allen and Richard Karn reunite to cohost the competition series “Assembly Required.”10 p.m. History Channel
WEDNESDAY
Resistance is feudal in “Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan,” a new docuseries mixing dramatic reenactments and expert commentary. Anytime, Netflix
Woof, there it is! Oakland dog trainer Jas Leverette turns bad doggos into the goodest bois in the unscripted series “Canine Interventions.” Anytime, Netflix
A wise-beyond-her-years teen and her hot mess of a mom try to start over in a new town in the YA drama series “Ginny & Georgia.” With Antonia Gentry and Brianne Howey. Anytime, Netflix
Red rover, red rover: “Nova” tracks the progress of NASA’s Perseverance Roverin the new episode “Looking for Life on Mars.” 9 p.m. KOCE
Crack is still wack as the South L.A.-set crime drama“Snowfall” hustles up a fourth season. With Damson Idris. 10 and 11 p.m. FX
Get your last laughs as the ladies of the recently wrapped “Baroness von Sketch Show” return with a batch of five bonus episodes. Midnight, IFC
THURSDAY
Estranged siblings find horror on a return visit to the family farm in the 2020 terror tale “The Dark and the Wicked.” With Marin Ireland. Anytime, Shudder
Rapper-actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges gets schooled in the finer points of the culinary arts in the special “Luda Can’t Cook.” Anytime, Discovery+
They grow up so fast: Our spunky young heroine (Soleil Moon Frye) is now a single mother of three in a reboot of the 1980s sitcom “Punky Brewster.”Anytime, Peacock
The intrepid filmmaker who brought the sport of skiing to the big screen in several decades’ worth of docs is remembered in the documentary “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story.” Anytime, Discovery+
It’s back to Panama City Beach for another season of the reality series “Floribama Shore.” 9 p.m. MTV
Yes, ma’am! “She’s the Boss” in this new reality series starring entrepreneur, income strategist, motivational speaker, wife and mother Nicole Walters. 10:31 p.m. USA
FRIDAY
She’s the baaaaad guy … duh: The documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” gets up close and personal with the teenage pop phenom. Anytime, Apple TV+
It’s a game of cat and mouse as the classic cartoon characters “Tom & Jerry”return in a live action/animated adventure. With Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña and “SNL’s” Colin Jost. Anytime, HBO Max
Singer-actress Andra Day portrays the legendary jazz vocalist known as “Lady Day” in Lee Daniels’ 2021 biopic “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”Anytime, Hulu
Word on the street is the six-part docuseries “Hip Hop Uncovered” is ending its run with back-to-back episodes. 9 and 10:21 p.m. FX
SATURDAY
A teen’s depraved father makes her life a living hell over the course of two horrific decades in the fact-based TV movie “Girl in the Basement.” With Stefanie Scott, Joely Fisher and Judd Nelson. 8 p.m. Lifetime
She’s torn between two brothers, feelin’ like a fool in the TV movie “It Was Always You.” With Tyler Hynes and the aforementioned Erin Krakow. 9 p.m. Hallmark Channel
Tim Allen and Richard Karn are reuniting again 30 years after their “Home Improvement” days for the History Channel’s forthcoming unscripted competition series “Assembly Required,” but don’t expect sitcom shenanigans while watching. Instead, the duo will lean into their real-life friendship and tried-and-true on-screen chemistry for a “kind of a live version of ‘Tool Time,’” Allen explained, while spotlighting the best and brightest makers from across the country with a can-do attitude and a competitive streak.
During the network’s Television Critics Association winter press tour panel Thursday, star Allen and host Karn gave the rundown on the new hourly 10-episode reality show, joined by the series’ own resident expert April Wilkerson (known best for her DIY woodworking and metalworking videos on YouTube), and Brent Montgomery, executive producer.
“Assembly Required” pits three builders head-to-head as they hammer, chop, arrange and assemble mind-blowing creations out of everyday household items in desperate need of fixing. Viewers will watch the production of a dual all-season ice melter/leaf blower, an all-in-one riding comfort mower, a do-it-yourself jacuzzi, a BBQ bicycle and more. The show is described as a competition series that lets participants “take back their sense of purpose and awaken their inner builder.” In each episode, Allen and Karn will also dive into the unique history around the materials and things used to honor the men and women who crafted them.
While producing the show during the pandemic, Allen, Wilkerson and Karn spoke on the challenges of having to judge participants remotely from their own workshops and having to connect with the creations in-person for the second part of the build.
“Because we were forced to do it in our separate space, you realize that around the country that Wi-Fi and the ability to get access to the outside world is not as easy for everybody,” Karn explained. “Sometimes we had to wait a while to make sure that the Wi-Fi and the cameras and everything was feeding us back all the information. There was a little bit of a disconnect because we would watch this stuff and talk about it with each other, but then when we actually saw it in person, we’d see the big little things that we didn’t realize in the builds. Some of them were amazing, and some of them looked great on camera.”
Even so, Montgomery rest-assured that The History Channel did not spare high-quality production and tried to make it “as least COVID-looking as possible.”
“It gave us a really great recipe to think and play and do different stuff… We would not normally have been inside these people’s shops and it probably would have been even harder for Tim to eliminate people face to face seeing them from six feet away!” Montgomery said. “So, we really think being able to highlight these people through their own environment started at a really nice baseline because they’re using a lot of their own equipment and are in their home turf. It gives us an incredible foundation to do some new and cool stuff in subsequent seasons.”
Wilkerson added that she thinks DIY will continue to be an upward trend as the pandemic continues to force us into our homes. “I think the more people that get into it, the more it inspires others to get into it too. Because, I think at the root of our DNA, we all want to build and create… I think people have the free time now to get rid of the other amenities they’re used to and put it into using their hands.”
Allen agreed with Wilkerson, acknowledging that he appreciates people that, instead of throwing stuff out, fix and repair to make things better. “It is in our DNA somewhere. Whatever we screw up we can fix it,” Allen added.
The series hails from Wheelhouse Entertainment’s Spoke Studios, ITV America and Boxing Cat Entertainment. Allen and Karn will executive produce alongside Brent Montgomery, Ed Simpson, Joe Weinstock, Will Nothacker, Simon Thomas, Vince Cariati and Katherine D. Fox. Eli Lehrer, Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef serve as executive producers for History.
“Assembly Required” premieres on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 10 p.m. ET on The History Channel.
Discovery-owned Food Network is set to profile former NFL players linebacker Brian “Rak” Orakpo and safety Michael “Griff” Griffin as they step off of the grid iron and into the kitchen in The Cupcake Guys Training Camp.
Produced by Michael Strahan’s SMAC Entertainment, Spoke Studios, ITV America and The Story Lab, the hour-long documentary special will follow the retired University of Texas and Tennessee Titans players as they attempt to exploit their newfound passion: cupcakes. Griffin serves as head backer, Orakpo as lead cupcake decorator and lifelong friend “Little Bryan” Hynson handles the business side of the Austin, Texas-based bakery.
Executive produced by Strahan, The Cupcake Guys Training Camp, the football players-turned-bakers will help three aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their baking dreams. Provided with a baking truck and coaching from Rak, Griff and Little Bryan, each contestant will be tested on their baking and selling skills over a 48-hour period.
The last baker standing is awarded a seed money investment into their business.
Food Network will premiere The Cupcake Guys Training Camp on Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. ET/PT. The special will also be made available across Discovery’s nascent streaming service, Discovery+, the same day.
“The Cupcake Guys captivated us with their national commercial where the big guys donned pink aprons and decorated little cupcakes – and we’ve been wanting to get an inside look at their business ever since,” said Food Network president Courtney White in a statement. “These lifelong friends are funny and competitive and they bring all the talent, skill and dedication they had on the gridiron to the bakery every day.”
“I’ve known Rak and Griff a long time and love that they followed their passion from professional football to cupcakes,” added Strahan. “They, along with their best friend Bryan Hynson, are the perfect team to mentor new entrepreneurs and send them on the path to success – and they are hilarious.”
Photo credit: Food Network
The Maroon 5 frontman’s 222 Productions has most notably launched ‘Songland’ on NBC.
Adam Levine is doubling down on his producorial pursuits, signing an exclusive overall deal with Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse Entertainment — one that will see the Maroon 5 frontman and his 222 Productions feeding both scripted and unscripted content for all platforms.
The singer-songwriter and multihyphenate, whose TV credits most significantly include a nine-year stint as a coach on NBC unscripted flagship The Voice, initially has already had some success as a producer. After founding 222 Productions in 2013, first with a first-look deal at NBC, Levine successfully launched singing competition Songland and YouTube series Sugar. With him, he brings 222 Productions president Josh Gummersall and vice president of development Jason Lautenschleger.
“Adam is that rare creative talent that excites audiences worldwide with everything he does,” said Wheelhouse chief creative officer and Wheelhouse Entertainment president Eric Wattenberg, who negotiated the deal alongside attorney Jeff Worob. “Beyond his musicianship, his commercial instincts are spot on, complementing Wheelhouse’s mission to help artists realize their entrepreneurial ambitions. We’re thrilled to be in business with Adam, Josh and Jason and can’t wait to get going on what 222 is already bringing to the table.”
In addition to creating and producing entertainment projects, joining Wheelhouse gives Levine and 222 access to the company’s brand and marketing arm, Wheelhouse Labs, as well as and Wheelhouse Partners — the company’s investment division, which claims to create lucrative entrepreneurial endeavors they may want to pursue. The latter has proved an enticing pitch for Wheelhouse’s nearly-three-year pursuit in making talent pacts, the latest being with With TikTok collective The Hype House.
“My team and I are excited to partner with Brent, Eric and the team at Wheelhouse to launch this new chapter for 222 Productions,” commented Levine.
Since departing The Voice in 2019, Levine haas launched a second season of Songland on NBC and released the first track from Maroon 5’s upcoming seventh studio album.
Levine and 222 Productions are repped by CAA.
There’s a “Home Improvement” reunion on the cards at History.
The network has issued a 10-episode order for an unscripted series called “Assembly Required” (working title) which will star Tim Allen and be hosted by Richard Karn.
“Assembly Required” is described as a competition series which is sounding the call for those with a can-do attitude to take back their sense of purpose and awaken their inner builder.
Its aim is to spotlight the best and brightest builders from across the country, at their home workshops, as they compete to breathe new life into everyday household items in desperate need of fixing. In each episode, Allen and Karn will also dive into the unique history around these items to celebrate the men and women who crafted them.
“Let’s face it, we’re living in a throwaway society,” said Allen in a statement. “We buy, break, replace… rinse and repeat. Whatever happened to repair and rebuild?! There are some people who unfriend, unfollow and dispose of anything that offends, annoys or breaks – so I’ve created a show to remind people of the satisfaction and pride that comes from rebuilding something on their own. And who better to join me than my buddy from the old Tool Time days – Richard Karn! Now we’re talking More Power! Albert Einstein once said, ‘I’m not a genius, I’m just passionately curious.’ Well, let’s get curious! Even a chimpanzee would at least show interest, right? Wait – I think I just came up with another idea for the show! R-R-R!”
Allen and Karn will executive produce alongsice Brent Montgomery, Ed Simpson, Joe Weinstock, Will Nothacker, Simon Thomas, Vince Cariati and Katherine D. Fox. Eli Lehrer, Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef serve as executive producers for History.
“Our history is defined by the innovations of ordinary dreamers creating extraordinary things, from Thomas Edison’s light bulb to the Wright brothers’ first flight,” said Lehrer, executive vice president and general manager of History. “We look forward to partnering with Tim and Richard, America’s beloved duo, as they challenge a new wave of skilled individuals to think out-of-the-box to build upon the innovations of those before them. We hope this series will inspire viewers to think twice about throwing out that old item, roll up their sleeves and rebuild it better.”
The show hails from Wheelhouse Entertainment’s Spoke Studios, ITV America and Boxing Cat Entertainment.
Home Improvement star Tim Allen is to star in and exec produce a non-scripted building series for History.
The actor who played Tool Time star Tim Taylor on the ABC sitcom for eight seasons, will be joined by his Home Improvement co-star Richard Karn in Assembly Required(w/t).
The ten-part series will spotlight the best and brightest builders from across the country, at their home workshops, as they compete to breathe new life into everyday household items in desperate need of fixing. In each episode, Allen and Karn will also dive into the history around these items to celebrate the men and women who crafted them, and the techniques used.
The series is produced by Wheelhouse Entertainment’s Spoke Studios, ITV America and Boxing Cat Entertainment. Exec producers include Allen, Karn, Brent Montgomery, Ed Simpson, Joe Weinstock, Will Nothacker, Simon Thomas, Vince Cariati, Katherine D. Fox, Eli Lehrer, Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef.
“We’re living in a throwaway society,” said Allen. “We buy, break, replace… rinse and repeat. Whatever happened to repair and rebuild? There are some people who unfriend, unfollow and dispose of anything that offends, annoys or breaks so I’ve created a show to remind people of the satisfaction and pride that comes from rebuilding something on their own. And who better to join me than my buddy from the old Tool Time days – Richard Karn.”
Rob Sharenow, President of Programming at A+E Networks, speaking about the show in a panel, moderated by Deadline, at the virtual Edinburgh International TV Festival, described the format as Forged In Fire for mechanical building.
Sharenow admitted that some of its long-running formats, which include Pawn Stars, Forged In Fire and American Pickers, may end soon, hence the search for new titles.
“I think we’ve had so many highly successful formats that we’ve grown a little fat on them and some of them could be sidled out and we need to replace some of those heavy hitters with new formats and that’s a big priority for us,” he said.
Sharenow added that it was also working on a core history format that explored the genre in a new way with talent. “Contemporizing the voice of history through these formats is something that I’m highly motivated to do,” he said.
Tim Allen is reuniting with his “Tool Time” co-star Richard Karn for a new home builder competition series at History, the network announced Tuesday.
The 10-episode series, tentatively titled “Assembly Required,” will “spotlight the best and brightest builders from across the country, at their home workshops, as they compete to breathe new life into everyday household items in desperate need of fixing.”
Allen and Karn will host and executive produce the series, which is set to premiere in 2021. The project reunites the duo more than two decades after they co-hosted the fictional show-within-a-show on ABC’s “Home Improvement.”
“Let’s face it — we’re living in a throwaway society,” Allen said in a statement. “We buy, break, replace… rinse and repeat. Whatever happened to repair and rebuild?! There are some people who unfriend, unfollow and dispose of anything that offends, annoys or breaks – so I’ve created a show to remind people of the satisfaction and pride that comes from rebuilding something on their own. And who better to join me than my buddy from the old Tool Time days – Richard Karn! Now we’re talking More Power! Albert Einstein once said, ‘I’m not a genius, I’m just passionately curious.’ Well, let’s get curious! Even a chimpanzee would at least show interest, right? Wait – I think I just came up with another idea for the show! R-R-R!”
The series will be produced for History by Spoke Studios, ITV America and Boxing Cat Entertainment. In addition to Allen and Karn, executive producers are Brent Montgomery, Ed Simpson, Joe Weinstock, Will Nothacker, Simon Thomas, Vince Cariati and Katherine D. Fox. Eli Lehrer, Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef executive produce for History.
“Our history is defined by the innovations of ordinary dreamers creating extraordinary things, from Thomas Edison’s light bulb to the Wright brothers’ first flight,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President and General Manager for HISTORY. “We look forward to partnering with Tim and Richard, America’s beloved duo, as they challenge a new wave of skilled individuals to think out-of-the-box to build upon the innovations of those before them. We hope this series will inspire viewers to think twice about throwing out that old item, roll up their sleeves and rebuild it better.”
Shopify has been on a roll, with its business of powering retailer websites expanding during the coronavirus crisis — and its market cap up 148% since the start of the year. Now, in an unusual move, the e-commerce platform has ambitions to break into TV.
On Aug. 18, Shopify’s production arm Shopify Studios will debut its first TV show, an eight-episode reality series called “I Quit” that follows individuals who have quit their jobs to start their own businesses and will air on Discovery. However, aside from the role of Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein as one of the show’s mentors, the series will not be larded with Shopify’s branding or promotion of its platform. In fact, the series will be “completely unbranded,” said Sarah North, a TV and digital video production veteran who joined the company as head of Shopify Studios in September 2019.
Formed in January 2019, Shopify Studios is focused on developing and producing unscripted shows and films to air on TV networks and streaming services. Among the projects in the works is a feature-length documentary that will not feature Shopify’s brand nor any merchants that use its e-commerce platform, North said. One sign of how much of Shopify Studios’ work is marketing would be whether the studio is organized within the company’s marketing department. It’s not. Instead Shopify Studios operates as its own business line and reports directly to the company’s COO.
“At its core, Shopify Studios is a full-service film-and-TV production company,” said North, noting that Shopify Studios participates from a project’s development to its production, its sale to distributors and its debut.
Shopify believes “I Quit” and other shows and movies it produces will ultimately benefit its core e-commerce business by drawing attention to the businesses powering the burgeoning direct-to-consumer retail industry.
Asked about measuring Shopify Studios’ benefit to its broader business during the company’s earnings call in April 2019, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke said Shopify Studios’ work would help to demystify the process of people starting their own businesses and spur more individuals to do so. As for tracking the return on the company’s investment, he admitted that would be “tricky” but added that “we are not falling into the trap of only doing short-term things because they happen to be more trackable.”
“They’ve been very clear that they don’t want their brand featured,” said Jon Murray, co-founder of Bunim-Murray Productions, which is co-producing with Shopify Studios a documentary series about disabled entrepreneurs titled “Born for Business.”
Shopify has applied its knowledge of the subject matter — entrepreneurship — to the shows while operating as a typical co-producer and financier rather than strong-arming productions as an advertiser might a commercial shoot. “It’s really a perfect situation where, in working together, we both understand what we’re bringing to the project and are respectful of each other,” Murray said.
As chief strategy officer at production company Wheelhouse Entertainment — whose subsidiary Spoke Studios is co-producing “I Quit” with Shopify Studios — Ed Simpson receives “a lot of emails and contacts” from companies trying to get into the TV business. So when Shopify Studios reached out sometime before the studio’s formation, his initial reaction was a bit skeptical. Then he heard the company out.
“One of the first things they said to me was, ‘We want to make great content.’ I was like, ‘OK, cool. How many times do you want your brand mentioned?’ They were like, ‘No, you don’t understand. What we want is to make great content. We don’t care how many times the brand name comes up,’” Simpson recalled.
Shopify Studios has hired people, such as North, with TV and film production backgrounds. Among them is Pam Silverstein, who has worked in branded content but also served as an associate producer on “Mortal Engines,” a film directed by Oscar winner Peter Jackson, and got her start in the mail room at Hollywood talent agency ICM Partners.
When Silverstein was recruited to join Shopify Studios as an executive producer for film and TV, she received a similar pitch to the one Shopify has given to the production companies. “It wasn’t [that Shopify was] looking to write a check or look for an equity opportunity and just do a set visit and take a vanity credit,’” Silverstein said.
Shopify has allowed Shopify Studios to operate as a normal production company, albeit one housed within and with the backing of a tech company. For example, Shopify Studios updates Shopify’s finance department regularly on programs’ costs, sending through cash flow documents and cost reports as a production firm would typically provide to a show’s financier.
“That comes into the trust that’s been given to me where I’m looking at where dollars are spent and do we want to go capture this moment or that moment, do we want to reshoot, do we want to add more cast members,” Silverstein said.
Meanwhile, Shopify Studios’ involvement in shows’ production has been similarly consistent with how a co-producer participates in a project, from brainstorming ideas during the development phase to providing notes during production. “Pam has visited the set, and we have weekly calls with her and the team,” said Murray.
“Shopify was as involved in [‘I Quit’] as myself and other [executive producers] on the show. And I say that in a positive way,” said Simpson.
Shopify also seems to recognize when aspects of the work are best left to its production partners. For example, Shopify Studios may have been met with skepticism when pitching “I Quit” to show buyers at TV networks and streaming services. So it didn’t try to be the one spearheading the pitch process.
“We did lead the way in the pitch and negotiating because we had the decades of relationships with the networks. It just means that we walk into a much warmer room than Shopify, who is just launching their [studio] business,” Simpson said.
There is at least one example, however, of how Shopify Studios is able to uniquely participate in a show’s production. The opening of “I Quit” aims to show the trend of people quitting jobs to start their own businesses. Shopify Studios turned to the company’s data scientists to pull numbers on how many people are doing this and have those numbers reflect in the show’s opening. “That really helps the creative,” Silverstein said.