Candle Media, the media investment company led by Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, is reorganising its live-action assets under a new Candle Studios banner as it rejigs its operations to contend with the industry-wide spending contraction.
Founded in 2021 by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, the venture made several acquisitions – including Reese Witherspoon’s production label Hello Sunshine – at the offset. Flash forward three years, and free-spending content buyers have cratered back to earth (along with their individual stock prices).
Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden has been named CEO of Candle Studios and will also retain her existing role at the prodco behind "The Morning Show". Candle Media said the new operating unit would share resources including business affairs, legal affairs, production services, facilities and equipment. Meanwhile, Candle Media’s kids businesses will all be housed under Moonbug Entertainment, which it acquired for around US$3bn in 2021.
Across its various entities, Candle Studios is producing more than 30 projects in 2024, including Hello Sunshine series "The Morning Show", "The Last Thing He Told Me and Surface", all for Apple TV+. Meanwhile, Exile Content has the second season of "Vgly" (Max) on the go, while Candle "True Stories" will release season two of "Crime Nation" (The CW) and "Faraway Road" is in development on season five of Fauda, in addition to a feature film and other projects.
Co-CEOs Mayer and Staggs said in a joint statement: “We are excited to announce that in order to continue to drive and enhance the collaboration and synergies that are core to Candle’s vision, mission and culture, we have organised our live-action, premium content capabilities into a newly formed Candle Studios division, which will be led by the incomparable Sarah Harden, who will serve as its CEO. This will bring all of our live-action properties into one division, with each benefiting from a go-to-market strategy and shared resources, while retaining their unique brand identity, audience profiles and day-to-day creative and business leadership," they commented.