Fox Entertainment & Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Strike Microdrama Deal

Fox Entertainment and Kevin Hart‘s Hartbeat are getting into business on microdrama.

Fox Entertainment Studios will have a first look at feature film and television series projects developed from vertical series released under a trio of Hartbeat brands, while distributor Fox Entertainment Global sells them worldwide following their first run.

The pipeline launches with a slate of 25 live-action titles, spanning thriller, drama, and faith-based storytelling. They will be release under the Codeblack, Essence and Revolt brands, and hosted on My Drama, which is run by microdrama behemoth Holywater Tech. Fox invested in Holywater last year. Codeblack will become the first dedicated branded channel on My Drama.

Fox and Hartbeat see these brands as the “first stage of intellectual property development,” they said, as Fox boss Rob Wade spoke on a MIPCOM panel about content creators this afternoon at the Cannes market. The pair said Codeblack, Essence and Revolt have a “combined social following exceeding 20 million.”

“Hartbeat has a powerful creative voice and an exceptional instinct for stories that connect with audiences,” said Hannah Pillemer, Head of Scripted at Fox Entertainment Studios. “This partnership gives us an opportunity to identify bold ideas in the vertical space, see what resonates in real time, and give those stories a path to grow into film and television.”

Codeblack founder Jeff Clanagan added: “My vision has always been to bring the biggest cultural brands serving our audience together in one destination, and the partnership with Essence and Revolt makes that real.”

Last month, we revealed Hartbeat had struck a similar partnership with microdrama platform aTwist.