BuzzFeed Studios and MuVpix line up 100 microdramas
The two companies plan a two-year vertical-video slate led by Romeo & Juliet, Reimagined, which is set to launch in August.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
BuzzFeed Studios and MuVpix are betting big on bite-size drama, with a new pact to make more than 100 microdrama titles over the next two years, Deadline reported.
The partnership will start with Romeo & Juliet, Reimagined, a modern take on Shakespeare’s tragedy that is due to launch in August. The project stars Clayton Carrozza as Romeo and Gabrielle Faith Brown as Juliet, with Yolanthe Cabu also among the cast, according to Deadline.
MuVpix, a U.S.-based vertical entertainment platform from BlackForge Distribution, launched in March with the original shows Whispervale and Swipe Left. It added Romeo & Juliet, Reimagined to its slate in June.
The new arrangement pairs MuVpix’s platform, distribution operation and technology with BuzzFeed Studios’ vertical storytelling team, production setup, marketing business and social reach, Deadline reported.
The companies plan to develop original intellectual property, updated versions of classic stories and shoppable formats made for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, FAST and CTV platforms, and the MuVpix Originals platform.
Who is running the slate
Richard Alan Reid, president of BuzzFeed Studios, will oversee the partnership. BuzzFeed executive producers Mike Aho and Dan Katt are also involved, alongside MuVpix head of creative content Erik Heintz. Ben Asaf Jehoshua and Harris Levinson are serving as co-executive producers, according to Deadline.
Romeo & Juliet, Reimagined moves the Montague and Capulet feud into the criminal underworld of present-day Los Angeles. Deadline reported that the series was filmed in both horizontal and vertical formats.
Mustafa Speaks and Jordan Barrett are also in the cast. The story was co-written by Latino filmmakers Max Decker and Dario Herrera, with Decker directing and Herrera serving as creative director.
BlackForge Distribution, which owns MuVpix, is attached as production company and co-financier. Speaks, through Blue Meridian Studios, and Liz Fuller of ST8RM are executive producers, Deadline reported.
Executives pitch a bigger vertical push
John Lewis, founder of MuVpix, said in a statement reported by Deadline that the BuzzFeed Studios partnership would help the company reach wider audiences while improving creativity and production quality.
Lewis said the companies want to bring premium storytelling to a format where audiences are already gathering, and to do it at a scale and quality level he said the sector has not previously seen.
Aho said BuzzFeed Studios brings distribution, production services, marketing and public relations to the partnership, along with broad social media reach. He said the studio has been at the front of content and culture and is now moving into the new format.
The deal lands shortly after Byron Allen closed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in BuzzFeed, Deadline reported. Under Allen’s plan, BuzzFeed Studios and the food brand Tasty are expected to become separate entities while remaining wholly owned subsidiaries of the parent company.
BuzzFeed Studios is also attached to projects including Natalie Morales’ movie The Girlfriend, the holiday romantic comedy The Twelve Dates of Christmas and Whodunnit, a romcom featuring Jack Whitehall and Lizzie Broadway, according to Deadline.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.