Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat will bring an exclusive, original microseries slate to aTwist this fall.
The microseries platform launches this Thursday featuring a growing lineup of original programming across genres. aTwist and Hartbeat will collaborate on a slate of more than 20 original microseries, including original comedy microseries under the LOL umbrella.
“Our vision for aTwist has always been to build a home for quality microseries – one that sparks passionate fan communities and provides a trusted platform for talent, creators and brands,” CEO of aTwist Jana Winograde said. “Partnering with Hartbeat is another step in bringing globally recognized entertainment brands to aTwist and building a destination where broad reach and great storytelling can live side by side.”
The Hartbeat slate will consist of several adaptations of bestselling author Blake Karrington’s book series, which will be produced in partnership with Upscale Productions.
“I’ve spent my career building audiences for stories the mainstream overlooked, and the most strategic way to do that has always been to start with an audience that already exists,” said Jeff Clanagan, president and chief distribution officer of Hartbeat. “That’s the thinking behind bringing Blake Karrington’s extensive catalog to vertical through our partnership with Upscale Productions, for millions of readers who are already devoted fans before episode one even airs.”
aTwist is a new vertical video service founded by veteran TV industry execs Jana Winograde, Susan Rovner and Lloyd Braun. Their partnerships also include BET, National CineMedia and “The Bold and the Beautiful” creative chief Bradley Bell. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita have also been tapped to produce a musical microseries for the platform.
The platform currently has more than 20 series in production across scripted, unscripted and animation formats, which is building a robust pipeline of premium original microseries. They plan to grow their library consistently throughout the rest of the year.
aTwist’s slate will push into new genres of microseries, spanning comedy, drama, unscripted, horror and romance.
The microseries industry is estimated to be worth $150 billion outside of China, up 42% year-over-year, according to an August report from Owl & Co. The company’s figures count advertising, consumer and shopping take-rate revenue across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts and the vertical-native apps, including all microdrama apps and live shopping platform Whatnot.
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