Sugar23 and Fifth Season Create New Brand-Focused TV and Film Studio

Today, management and production company Sugar23 and Fifth Season, the production and distribution company behind shows like Apple TV+’s Severance, announced a new cinema and television studio that aims to co-finance more than $100 million in production with partner brands over the next three years.

Both companies will work closely with brands to create stories that will resonate with their respective audiences. The joint venture will produce a range of content, including scripted and unscripted films, documentaries and feature films, as well as developing and producing series and films under more traditional models.

Michael Sugar, co-founder and CEO of Sugar23said his company has always been focused on finding a new bridge between advertisers and their audiences, and he believes the partnership with Fifth Season will continue to do that.

“Our team comes from both worlds, so we’re not just going to one brand looking for money,” Sugar told ADWEEK. “We’re looking at a brand looking for partnerships on the types of entertainment properties that will actually be very valuable and create cultural moments for the brand.”

Sugar said the partnership would be two-fold as he wants the brands to own the entertainment proposition and bring the opportunities to them as soon as possible. By bringing in brands as seed investors, they will also impact creation and production.

“They normally pay to be integrated,” Sugar said. “In this case, brands will invest rather than pay. This isn’t the main thing, but it’s important because brands aren’t normally asked to get involved this early. This accelerates the speed at which this transformation will happen, as we hope to become a first stop for brands and producers.

The concept goes beyond just branded content, Sugar said. The CEO of Sugar23 previously spoke at ADWEEK’s Brandweek event about the need to adapt branded content. He noted that the new projects are high-end, brand-funded, brand-driven entertainment.

Chris Rice, co-CEO of Fifth Season, said Sugar’s experience working with brands, combined with Fifth Season’s global reach, will help take productions to the next level.

Fifth Season has production centers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and continental Europe. Besides Severance, the company is also behind Max’s Tokyo Vice, HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage and Hulu’s Life & Beth and Nine Perfect Strangers.

According to Rice, today, brands are often brought in at the point of production, or lower-tier shows seek out brands when they can’t find funding elsewhere. The new studio seeks to go beyond that.

“What Michael did was try to find out what those first-tier opportunities are. Who are the best creators, actors, directors – and how can we find the bridge to take the best ideas that naturally fit into the value of a brand in both directions, where they are an improvement on what the series – not just a pure fundraising attempt,” Rice said.

The deal was negotiated on behalf of Sugar23 by David Fox and Dennis Buckle of Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg & Light.

Moving forward, Sugar emphasized that they want to build meaningful relationships with the holding companies, brands and agencies they work with. The idea is to work within the advertising and branding landscape, not around it.

“We’re not looking to disintermediate anyone or any group,” Sugar said. “We’re looking to eliminate friction. This is where we found our success. We’ve created a faster path and a different model, but we’re excited to continue working directly with brands, as well as their agencies and all the producers in Hollywood, many of whom are already coming to us and being invited to participate to this project. model also. »