FOX Entertainment and Hartbeat have joined forces in a partnership that could reshape how Black-focused content moves from social media to the big screen.

The two companies announced a multi-faceted deal on October 13 that positions original vertical series, short-form, mobile-first content, as the front end of a development pipeline for film and television.

Under the agreement, FOX Entertainment Studios holds a first look at feature film and television projects developed from vertical series released under three brands brought together through the partnership: CODEBLACK, ESSENCE, and REVOLT. FOX Entertainment Global will handle worldwide distribution of those vertical series following each title’s initial platform run.

The pipeline launches with a slate of 25 live-action titles spanning thriller, drama, and faith-based storytelling. The series will premiere on a new CODEBLACK-branded destination on My Drama, the vertical video platform from FOX’s strategic partner Holywater Tech. It marks the first dedicated branded channel on My Drama, and users will be able to subscribe to it independently or access it as part of the broader service.

With a combined social following exceeding 20 million, CODEBLACK, ESSENCE, and REVOLT bring established, engaged audiences to the partnership from day one. Jeff Clanagan, founder of CODEBLACK and President and Chief Distribution Officer of Hartbeat, said the deal is the culmination of a vision he has been building toward.

“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,” Clanagan said. “CODEBLACK, ESSENCE and REVOLT have spent decades earning this audience’s trust. Now that audience has one home for stories made for them, in the format where they already spend their time. Vertical is where those stories start, not where they stop. The culture builds the audience, the audience chooses the stories, and with FOX the stories that win become film and television for the world.”

Hannah Pillemer, Head of Scripted at FOX Entertainment Studios, said the structure of the deal reflects a smarter, more audience-informed approach to IP development.

“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,” Pillemer said. “This strategic, audience-driven approach to developing IP fits naturally with how we’re growing FOX Entertainment Studios.”

The deal also extends the vertical storytelling format beyond its traditional concentration in romance, opening it to multicultural, faith-based, and genre-driven series designed from the start as launching pads for larger franchises.

For brands like ESSENCE and REVOLT, which have spent years cultivating deep loyalty with Black audiences, the partnership creates a direct line between the communities they’ve built and the content ecosystem at one of television’s most established networks.