Fox is significantly expanding its lineup of creators, adding seven new creators and a slew of new shows to create “long-lasting, durable” intellectual property for the company’s creator-focused division, the division’s head told Variety.
Fox Creator Studios has signed Canadian influencer Josh Richardson, racing influencer Emelia Hartford, the trio behind Speed Co, food creators Sorted Food and MyHealthyDish, Christina Richardson’s Microseries franchise, and Alice Ma’s Mad Realities company. The group has a combined social footprint of 65 million people and joins the sector’s roster of stalwarts such as chef Gordon Ramsay and comedian Tom Segura.
Billy Parks, head of Fox Creator Studios, told Variety that the new partners represent “different types of creators who are trying different things for their audiences.” He selected his newest creator after various conversations with Fox, agents, and the creators themselves.
“We want to engage creators of different sizes, different types of content, different formats,” Parks said in a phone interview from Austin, where he was visiting the set of one of Segura’s projects. “We thought a good portion of all of them would be good because they’re all important to us. They’re just the ones that we’re really excited to make, and more importantly, the ones that they’re really excited to make.”
The expansion comes about six months after Fox launched a division dedicated to creators. The business aims to combine the content ambitions of online-first creators with Fox’s production and distribution efforts, while also allowing the company to leverage the millions of followers that creators have amassed. Such a move would help networks like Fox track viewers to other platforms as linear TV continues to decline.
Richards’ deal will see his production company Crosscheck co-produce seasons two and three of his sketch comedy show “Lead the Room” with Fox, which will premiere in August, while Hartford’s deal will see him launch “Hot Laps,” a celebrity interview series around the racetrack. (Parks declined to reveal which celebrities are booked.)
“Through CrossCheck, we have built a company focused on understanding culture, audience behavior, and the next generation of storytelling,” Richards said in a statement. “By combining that perspective with Fox’s scale and heritage, we are creating a blueprint for what modern media will look like.”
“‘Hot Laps’ is exactly the kind of show I’ve always wanted to create, one that combines high-performance driving with authentic dialogue and unforgettable personalities,” Hartford added in her statement. “We’re bringing people together in completely off-the-wall environments in the best possible way, and that’s where the magic happens. With Fox Creator Studios believing in me and sharing my vision of building premium content around creators like me, I’m so excited about the future and taking this project to the next level.”
Speed Co, Sorted Food, MyHealthyDish and Mad Realities will also launch new shows, and Fox Creator Studios will produce seasons 3 and 4 of Richardson’s vertical series “Besties.” All shows will launch on the creators’ respective platforms, and Fox will fund production with a stake in the IP. The company does not retain final ownership of the projects, an unusual stance for an entertainment company, and its advertising sales team works to sell advertising for each production.
“We don’t pass notes,” Parks said. “If they invite us into the creative process, we’re happy to oblige, but generally we want to collaborate on projects that they’re excited about.”
Parks said the company continues to explore multiple platforms to bring in more creators, but declined to say whether that would include IP owned by Roku through the Roku Channel. The Roku Channel is one of several assets that Fox will soon own after acquiring Roku for $22 billion this week. “Roku is a very exciting announcement,” he acknowledged, but declined to comment further until the deal closes.
But what he is open to embracing are creators who generate content through AI, finding a home through several mediums including YouTube, TikTok, and the Microseries platform.
“This is an exciting place to be,” Parks said. “We’re 100% open to all types of creators, whether they’re using AI tools, animation tools, traditional types of scripted or unscripted formats. All of that is exciting to us. If it’s a good story and it’s well told, we’re here.”
Pictured above: Josh Richards, Emelia Hartford
