The Wonder Project is the latest media brand to embrace the creator economy to grow viewership for its shows and better understand the core audience of its TV series and movies.
Last year, the Wonder Project quietly enlisted a group of eight social media creators to help promote shows like Amazon Prime Video’s “House of David” and the upcoming family drama “It’s Not Like That.” Creators were given extensive access to the Wonder Project series, including early screenings, set visits, clips, and other assets creators can create to create social media posts to help spread the word about the show.
The Wonder Project has developed a formal Creator Circle program that fosters the company’s work with new groups of creators each year. Wonder Project launched a subscription streaming channel via Prime Video last year, helping expand the independent production company founded in late 2023 by filmmaker Jon Irwin and former Netflix and YouTube executive Kerry Merriman Hoogstraten. The Wonder Project strives to produce films and television shows infused with elements of spirituality and stories that explore questions of meaning and purpose.
The Creator Circle push has been very successful so far, and Wonder Project has used it to guide storytelling and marketing decisions for new titles, including “It’s Not Like That,” which premieres January 25 on Wonder Project and Prime Video. The eight creators have a total of 19 million social media followers. Their social media activity led to 3.5 million additional impressions of the “House of David” season 2 trailer ahead of the season’s Oct. 5 release.
“Our audiences crave community, both online and in their living rooms, and these creators are already building that community through heartfelt and authentic storytelling,” said Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten, CEO of Wonder Project. “With ‘It’s Not Like That,’ we’re building on what worked for Season 2 of ‘House of David,’ which is partnering with creators who not only reach this audience, but truly understand them. We’re giving creator circles early access and authentic resources to help them reach a community that wants stories worth collecting. That’s how movements grow.”
Chelsea Hurst is one of eight creators in the first group. The group produces content for Instagram, YouTube, and other major platforms. Wonder Project, based in Los Angeles and Austin, uses its social handles to promote content from individual creators and directly distributes some creator content.
“I’m so excited to work on creative projects with creators who share our vision, drive and purpose,” said Hirst. “For years, I’ve wanted to connect and create with like-minded people, and now, thanks to the Wonder Project, I’ve been given a seat at the table to have a real conversation to discuss the viewing experience and share my perspective on what I think our shared audience needs to translate it into a program that helps my community understand the broader vision behind values-based storytelling.”
The first eight participants are:
Allie Schnacky (@allieschnacky) Chaz Smith (@chazsmith) Chelsea Hurst (@chelseakayhurst) Eric Jenn (@ericj3ng) Joe Navarro (@joechristianguy) Keropi Sanchez (@keropisanchez) Lorne Starling (@rohnstarling) Taylor Ransom (@realtaylorransom)
Wonder Project will begin recruiting for the 2026 Creator Circle this summer.
