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Reese Witherspoon is one step closer to Oprah-dom with new DirecTV deal

Posted at 8:02 AM, Jul 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-10 10:02:36-04

By Sandra Gonzalez, CNN

Hello Sunshine is saying hello to a new deal that will give the Reese Witherspoon-led media company a new platform for its female-driven content.

AT&T and the emerging production company on Tuesday announced the launch of a Hello Sunshine Video On Demand, a new channel that will spotlight female creators and their stories. The channel will also act as the launching pad for two new unscripted series that will debut on DirecTV.

(In June, AT&T purchased CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, now called WarnerMedia.)

The first of the series will be helmed by Witherspoon herself. Called “Shine On with Reese,” the show will capture what “inspires, motivates and gives joy” to female trailblazers, who will also share “their perspectives on ambition, work, family and hopes for the future,” according to a release.

Episodes will feature not only celebrities such as Dolly Parton, Ava DuVernay and Pink, but entrepreneurs, activists and authors. It premieres July 17.

The other unscripted series, “Master the Mess,” will showcase the skills of so-called “decluttering gurus” Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, founders of Nashville-based business The Home Edit. The series will show the duo transform chaotic spaces like pantries, closets and laundry rooms. It debuts September 4.

The launch of the channel marks a big move for Hello Sunshine, which has aimed to make a name for itself both as a production company and an OWN-like media brand. (Oprah Winfrey launched the OWN network in 2011.)

On the production front, Hello Sunshine has had no trouble setting up buzzy projects at places such as Hulu and Apple.

An Octavia Spencer-produced drama and an adaptation of Celeste Ng’s “Little Fires Everywhere” — a comedy series starring Jennifer Aniston and Witherspoon — are among the projects in the works.

This year, Hello Sunshine also launched a podcast, expanded Witherspoon’s popular book club through a partnership with Audible, and launched a Facebook Watch series featuring celebrities and their mothers, called “Meet My Mom.”