Upworthy Is Launching an Entertainment Studio (Exclusive)

Sarah Yourgrau Courtesy of Upworthy

One of the digital platforms that defined the social media landscape of the 2010s is planning a Hollywood comeback.

Upworthy, which originally gained viral fame thanks to its positive, uplifting articles and photo galleries before shifting toward a more social-first content strategy after it was sold to Good Worldwide, is launching a studio.

Upworthy Studios is launching with a goal to push beyond digital publishing and social content to new entertainment formats and partnerships that can bring the brand to new platforms, while staying true to its positive, humanity-first storytelling.

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The new studio will be led by Sarah Yourgrau, a two-time Emmy winner and founder of Common Ground Studios (People You Should Know, The Home Edit, Returning the Favor), who will help it develop and execute on an original slate. The company expects to lean into its existing community for ideas and inspiration for its content efforts, suggesting more of a two-way-conversation when it comes to development rather than a top-down approach.

The studio is one of the first big initiatives of Amanda Farrand, who joined Upworthy as CEO earlier this summer, joining from Imagine Entertainment where she was a senior executive.

“Upworthy has spent years building an extraordinary relationship with an audience that wants stories that bring out the best in us,” said Farrand in a statement. “Launching our studio allows us to bring that mission and community into entertainment from the very beginning. We believe the next generation of great media companies will build alongside their audiences. Upworthy is already proving what that can look like, turning the conversations in our Instagram comments into a New York Times bestselling book. Content may be king, but community is queen.”

“Upworthy has something incredibly rare — a massive community that already knows what the brand stands for and actively wants to be part of it,” added Yourgrau. “There is an enormous opportunity to rethink the traditional studio model by starting with that relationship instead of treating the audience as something to find after a project is finished. The projects I’m proudest of were built alongside their audiences. With 17 million people already invested in this community, we have an extraordinary creative partner to make ambitious entertainment from day one.”