Paris (France) (AFP) – Reese Witherspoon and French content group Mediawan on Tuesday said they were buying Hello Sunshine, the women-focused production company the Hollywood star founded before she sold a majority stake in it in 2021.
Witherspoon launched Hello Sunshine in 2016 to “change the narrative for women” and how they were represented in the media. The company has produced, among others, the series “Big Little Lies,” “The Morning Show,” and “Little Fires Everywhere,” as well as animated series and podcasts. When Candle Media, backed by major investment firm Blackstone, took a majority stake, the actress-entrepreneur continued to be involved in managing Hello Sunshine. The company is also home to “Reese’s Book Club,” an online reading community whose promoted titles are sometimes adapted for the screen.
Witherspoon and Mediawan did not disclose the sum they paid to Candle Media but simply said their partnership would allow Hello Sunshine to explore a broader range of narrative formats and distribution models to forge new connections with audiences globally. “Mediawan has built a global, independent studio by putting creators first. That has always been my vision for Hello Sunshine,” said Witherspoon. “I’m investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams because this is the perfect home for this new media landscape,” she said, referring to the Mediawan boss.
Mediawan has already established a foothold in Hollywood by acquiring companies such as Plan B, chaired by Brad Pitt, at the end of 2022, and The North Road Company in early 2026.
© 2024 AFP
