Hello Sunshine is an American
media company
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information e ...
founded by actress
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...
and Strand Equity Founder and Managing Partner Seth Rodsky in 2016. Pacific Standard, the production company Witherspoon co-founded with
Bruna Papandrea
Bruna Papandrea (born 1971) is an Australian Film producer, film and television producer and the founder of production company Made Up Stories (company), Made Up Stories. Prior to Made Up Stories (company), Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-founded ...
in 2012, is now a subsidiary of Hello Sunshine.
On July 10, 2018, its co-owner
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
through
its communications division announced the launch of a Hello Sunshine-branded cable and satellite television channel, Hello Sunshine Channel, which will be focused on women similarly to the
Oprah Winfrey Network
Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel.
The network is led by talk show h ...
.
History
In 2000, Witherspoon founded production company Type A Films, which she merged with
Bruna Papandrea
Bruna Papandrea (born 1971) is an Australian Film producer, film and television producer and the founder of production company Made Up Stories (company), Made Up Stories. Prior to Made Up Stories (company), Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-founded ...
's Make Movies banner to create a new production company entitled Pacific Standard in 2012. Together, they produced the Oscar-nominated films ''
Gone Girl'' and ''
Wild
Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to:
Common meanings
* Wild animal
* Wilderness, a wild natural environment
* Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed
Art, media and entertainment Film and television
* ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...
'', and the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
drama series ''
Big Little Lies''. In 2016, Witherspoon and Papandrea split up, with Witherspoon gaining full control over the company.
In November 2016, Witherspoon, Seth Rodsky and
Otter Media
Otter Media Holdings, LLC was an American digital media company owned by WarnerMedia. The company was founded in 2014 by AT&T and The Chernin Group as a holding company of the anime streaming service, Crunchyroll who the latter invested in 2013 ...
formed Hello Sunshine with Sarah Harden, a joint venture focused on telling female-driven stories on film, TV and digital platforms. Pacific Standard has become a subsidiary of the newer company.
The company's CEO is media and tech industry executive Kerry Tucker.
In addition to producing content, Hello Sunshine also curates a book club called ''Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine''. Witherspoon announces a new book pick every month on her Instagram and the book club is aimed to bring women's stories forward. The book club has over 500,000 followers on Instagram, and more than 70,000 followers on Facebook. Hello Sunshine also had a Filmmaker Lab to teach 20 girls aged 13–18 the art of film making.
On social media platforms
Facebook Watch
Facebook Watch is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and was available to all U.S. users that month. Facebook Watch's original ...
and
IGTV
IGTV, short for ''Instagram TV'', was a standalone video application by Instagram for Android and iOS smartphones. It allowed for longer videos compared to Instagram feeds. IGTV was available as a stand-alone app, though basic functionality was ...
, Hello Sunshine has released three short-form unscripted series focussing on female successes. In April 2018, Hello Sunshine launched the podcast ''How It Is'', hosted by American actress
Diane Guerrero
Diane Guerrero (born July 21, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as inmate Maritza Ramos on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'' and Lina on ''Jane the Virgin''. Guerrero grew up in Boston and remained there afte ...
. A second season of the podcast launched in October 2018. In November 2018, the third season of ''How It Is'' premiered with
Kelly McCreary
Kelly J. McCreary (born September 29, 1981) is an American actress, best known for her role on the ABC drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Maggie Pierce, the half-sister of series protagonist Meredith Grey. She joined the series as a guest a ...
taking over as host.
In July 2018, Hello Sunshine launched the talk show ''
Shine On with Reese'' on
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
hosted by Witherspoon in her first unscripted series. The show presents one-on-one interviews between Witherspoon and various female guests focussing on how they achieved their dreams.
In October 2018, Hello Sunshine launched a new podcast titled ''My Best Break-Up'' which is hosted by Irish comedian
Maeve Higgins
Maeve Anna Higgins (born 24 March 1981) is a comedian from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland and is based in New York. She was a principal actor and writer of the RTÉ television production '' Naked Camera'', as well as for her own show ''Maeve Higgi ...
.
In November 2018, Hello Sunshine partnered with ''Together Live'' to create the tour ''Hello Sunshine x Together Live.'' The tour went to ten different cities across the United States and featured multiple guest speakers telling their story including
Halima Aden
Halima Aden is a Somali-American fashion model. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attenti ...
,
MILCK
Connie K. Lim, professionally known as Milck (stylized as MILCK), is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter. A child of immigrants from Hong Kong, she initially performed as an independent artist for several years, and rose to widespread attentio ...
,
Yara Shahidi
Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022) and its spin-off series '' Grown-ish'' (2018 ...
,
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...
,
Nicole Byer
Nicole Byer (born August 29, 1986) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series ''Nailed It!'' (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award no ...
,
Cameron Esposito
Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito (born October 17, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, and podcaster known for her show ''Take My Wife (2016 TV series), Take My Wife'', as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, ''Queery''. Esposito s ...
,
Sonequa Martin-Green
Sonequa Chaunté Martin-Green (; Martin; born March 21, 1985) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Michael Burnham, the main character in the streaming television series '' Star Trek: Discovery'', and as Sasha W ...
and
Sophia Bush
Sophia Anna Bush Hughes (born July 8, 1982) is an American actress. She starred as Brooke Davis in The WB/ CW drama series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012), and as Erin Lindsay in the NBC police procedural drama series ''Chicago P.D.'' (2014– ...
. Highlights from the tour will be featured in the third forthcoming podcast ''And Especially You'' which will be hosted by guest speaker Sophia Bush.
In February 2019, Hello Sunshine received an investment from
Laurene Powell Jobs
Laurene Powell Jobs ( Powell; born November 6, 1963)United States birth records is an American billionaire businesswoman and executive. She is the founder and chair of Emerson Collective and XQ Institute. Powell Jobs resides in Palo Alto, Calif ...
'
Emerson Collective
Emerson Collective is a for-profit corporation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, this limited liability company (LLC) uses philanthropy, impact investing, ...
. Otter Media has also increased its stake in the company.
In early August 2021, Witherspoon (after considering selling the company and hearing the interest of
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
) sold part of the company to a
Blackstone backed media company led by former Disney executives
Kevin A. Mayer
Kevin A. Mayer (born 1962) is an American business executive who is the co-founder and co-CEO of Candle Media, alongside Thomas O. Staggs, the former COO and CFO of The Walt Disney Company. Backed by Blackstone Inc., Candle Media acquired Hello ...
and
Tom Staggs for $900 million, with Witherspoon and Harden retaining a stake in the new company and a seat on the board.
Upcoming projects
Witherspoon and
Bruna Papandrea
Bruna Papandrea (born 1971) is an Australian Film producer, film and television producer and the founder of production company Made Up Stories (company), Made Up Stories. Prior to Made Up Stories (company), Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-founded ...
will continue to produce the projects they have in development together including ''
Luckiest Girl Alive'' at Lionsgate/Summit, ''All Is Not Forgotten'' at Warner Bros, and ''Ashley's War'' at Fox 2000. They also will continue to work together under Pacific Standard's overall deal at ABC.
In May 2017, it was reported Hello Sunshine has set up to produce two novels, ''
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
''Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'' is the 2017 debut novel by Gail Honeyman, and the winner of the 2017 Costa Debut Novel Award. The story centres on Eleanor Oliphant, a social misfit with a traumatic past who becomes enamoured with a si ...
'' by
Gail Honeyman
Gail Honeyman (born 1972) is a Scottish people, Scottish writer whose debut novel, ''Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'', won the 2017 Costa Book Awards, Costa First Novel Award.
Biography
Born and raised in Stirling in central Scotland to a ...
and ''Something in the Water'' by
Catherine Steadman
Catherine Steadman is a British actress and author.
Career
Steadman trained at the Oxford School of Drama and made her screen debut playing Julia Bertram in '' Mansfield Park''. Since then she has appeared in television series such as ''The Tu ...
. Furthermore, it was announced that Hello Sunshine was filming a documentary about
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
, one of the best tennis players of all time.
Hello Sunshine has acquired film rights to the novel ''The Gilded Years''.
Zendaya
Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the ...
has signed to star in the adaption which will be called ''A White Lie'' and Witherspoon will star and produce ''Legally Blonde 3'' which was scheduled to premiere on Valentine's Day 2020, but was pushed back to 2022 In November 2018, it was announced that Hello Sunshine will produce the novel ''League of Wives'' as a feature film with
Fox 2000
Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studio 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures specializing in producing independent films in mid-range re ...
but due to the dissolvement of Fox 2000 following the
acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney
The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...
, the fate of the project is unknown as of February 2020.
As of February 2020, Hello Sunshine has six television series in development at six different networks including
Apple TV+
Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
,
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
,
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
,
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. Witherspoon will star in one show and will serve as an executive producer on all six shows.
In March 2022, it was announced that Hello Sunshine would produce ''Run, Rose, Run'', a film adaption of a novel written by
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
and
James Patterson
James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...
. Parton will also star in the film.
In August 2022, the company opened in Unscripted division in the United Kingdom.
Filmography
Films
Television
Web series
Podcasts
References
External links
*
*
{{Reese Witherspoon
Film production companies of the United States
Television production companies of the United States
American companies established in 2016
Mass media companies established in 2016
2016 establishments in California
Former AT&T subsidiaries
Former Time Warner subsidiaries
Reese Witherspoon
Companies based in Los Angeles
Entertainment companies based in California
Privately held companies based in California
2021 mergers and acquisitions