Toronto’s Blink49 Studios has made a strategic investment in L.A.-based digital-first comedy prodco Stapleview, founded in March 2022 by Sam Grey.

Stapleview will launch a Canadian content hub to manage Canadian talent and develop original series and formats. The company has five digital series in development with plans to shoot before the end of 2025 and a plan to expand production in 2026, a Stapleview spokesperson told Playback Daily. Stapleview also plans to hire two talent managers and a head of creative in Canada.

Stapleview is behind webseries such as Ad World, Bareback Acres and Clear the Air with Taylor Ortega, all of which are available on YouTube. The company’s YouTube channel has nearly 40,000 subscribers and just under 195,000 followers on TikTok.

As part of the deal between the companies, Blink49 co-founder John Morayniss (pictured) has joined Stapleview’s board of directors. Other investors and advisors include Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg as well as U.S. producers Joe Drake and Nick Meyer.

“With series like The Trades, Late Bloomer and Run the Burbs already on our roster, this partnership further cements our commitment to the genre,” said Morayniss in a statement.

The deal was brokered by Blink49 and Stapleview co-founders and COOs, Nelson Kuo-Lee and Daniel Lantsman, respectively.

Blink49 and Stapleview will also coproduce long-form adaptations of Stapleview’s digital comedy series and formats for the U.S. and Canadian markets, according to a May 6 release. The companies will collaborate on original formats, branded content and scripted and unscripted projects via Blink49 including through its brand studio and formats division, launched in January.

The capital raise is intended to support Stapleview’s continued expansion across its production and management divisions, helping to scale the company’s slate of scripted and unscripted comedy. Blink49 would not disclose the size of the investment.

Image courtesy of Blink49 Studios