Stapleview, the digital comedy production outfit founded by Sam Grey, announced a new content slate, a management division and an update to its leadership ranks, as reported by Deadline. Daniel Lantsman, a well-established media and tech exec, has joined the company as Co-Founder and COO. Lantsman spent eight years at Vine Alternative Investments, a New York-based private equity firm whose investments include a number in the media sector. He worked closely with Vine companies like EuropaCorp and Village Roadshow Entertainment, including serving on the board of directors of Village Roadshow. Along with the expansion and Lantsman’s new role, the company also revealed a roster of investors, among them Kate Capshaw, Joe Drake, GB Media, Nick Meyer, Peter Schlessel and Steven Spielberg.
In 2022, Stapleview emerged as the name of a Tik-Tok-focused comedy show created by Grey, who formerly worked at Management 360 and is the son of late comedy manager and Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey. It has since expanded into a full-fledged production company, focused mainly on digital platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Grey and Lantsman said their goal is not only to champion new comedy voices but to develop material that has the potential to transcend the world of digital shorts and take root in film, TV and streaming: “We have an ambitious and aggressive plan and that requires capital,” Lantsman said. “We have raised enough capital to give us sufficient runway to execute our plan.”
Stapleview’s newly constituted advisory board will include Meyer, Schlessel, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Matt Lichtenberg. Grey, who will directly oversee the newly formed management division, said the group already has “a pretty long list of clients.” Tam Sackman and Bogart Avila have joined the company’s management executive ranks. Sackman is the founder and head of Anomaly Artist Management and Avila’s recent experience includes a stint at Apple. Avila also runs Nico’s, a comedy club in Atwater Village which is quickly becoming an important hub for rising comedy artists.
Stapleview recently teamed with LA public radio station KCRW to debut the comedy series "Important Things of Great Importance," Stapleview’s first partnership under the expanded leadership. The show runs on KCRW’s Instagram and TikTok pages. In September, the company will launch six new shows created for the company’s YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok channels. The planned slate by year-end will feature 10 shows.
“Two years ago, we proved that long-form comedy designed for online audiences can build a loyal following,” Grey said. “Now, as I team up with Daniel, and have guidance from some of the brightest minds in the entertainment industry, I am confident that we can make an impact in the comedy world with the launch of our management arm and start production on our first batch of original shows.”
Lantsman described the new iteration of the company as “Stapleview 2.0” and said the addition of management capabilities and the release of additional content will help “unlock a new path” for the firm: “Our goal is to build an infrastructure that can help bridge the myriad possibilities of low cost, wide reaching digital content with the realities of a legacy media model that is in need of new and innovative methods for greenlighting content packages across the comedy genre.”
While Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences are naturally part of Stapleview’s fully digital approach, Grey said the company is not limiting itself to those segments: “We’re looking for comedy fans online who are watching YouTube, TikTok and Instagram and that can mean a lot of different types of people and demographics.”
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