Shopify Launches TV & Film Production Unit

Multichannel commerce platform Shopify has launched Shopify Studios, a full-service TV and film content development and production house.

Shopify Studios will develop, produce and finance entertainment content for streaming platforms and linear networks that spotlights entrepreneurship. Already, the company has set deals with Anonymous Content, Spoke Studios and Saville Productions (Lo and Behold: Reveries of a Connected World, From One Second to the Next) to develop entrepreneur-focused docuseries and feature-length documentaries.

Shopify Studios also produces short- to mid-form content for Shopify’s YouTube channel.

“Behind every product, system and modern convenience that makes the world turn is an entrepreneur with an idea,” said Jason Badal, head of Shopify Studios. “The entrepreneurial mindset has fueled discoveries, built industries and led to every significant innovation that’s shaped our society. We believe that spirit is inherent and present among us all, whether we realize it or not, and Shopify Studios’ content aims to inspire the next wave of creators and iconoclasts to embrace and manifest the possibilities before them.”

Fred Grinstein, head of nonfiction for Anonymous Content, said: “Shopify Studios shares our values of leading the conversation on content, telling forward-thinking stories with equally innovative business models that create a modern landscape for storytelling. We’re thrilled to call them partners.”

Wheelhouse Entertainment Chief Strategy Officer Ed Simpson added: “This partnership with Shopify embodies Wheelhouse and Spoke’s mission to work with forward-thinking businesses at the source of concept creation, essentially developing bespoke content. We see this as one of the hallmarks of our company and are ecstatic to have such an exceptional partner.”

Rupert Maconick, Saville Productions’ founder and executive producer, commented: “Shopify is leading a path of innovation for how companies approach entertainment content, and we are very excited to partner with them to inspire entrepreneurship through storytelling. Our mission has always been to create content that provides true entertainment value, and Shopify Studios’ commitment to developing narratives that are thought-provoking and entertain viewers makes it a perfect synergy.”