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Black creatives have many systemic challenges in getting their projects off the ground. One serial entrepreneur is doing what she can to remedy that. Issa Rae’s ColorCreative and Tubi announced a partnership in May 2024. It will allow creators of varied backgrounds to generate long-form, viewer-driven content.
Rae and co-founder Deniese Davis launched ColorCreative, a management company, in 2014. ColorCreative is a “direct-to-industry pipeline for women and minority writers.” The partnership with Tubi, called Stubios, will allow aspiring filmmakers to tell stories fans will see themselves in.
“Tubi is free entertainment for the cordless generation, and we’re committed to a programming strategy that resonates with younger and diverse audiences,” Anjali Sud, CEO of Tubi, said in a statement. “Tubi has the unique advantage of the world’s largest library of movies and TV series and the insights we gain from viewers telling us what they want to watch. Stubios is a way to give creatives with invested fanbases an opportunity to tell stories that may not otherwise be greenlit in Hollywood. And it will enable Tubi to ensure our programming reflects culture as it is happening.”
Tubi is a popular, free TV and movie streaming service in the U.S. With over 200,000 movies and show episodes, it has a library of exclusive originals, and over 250 live channels.
Rae has been vocal about her frustrations with being a Hollywood Black creator.
In an interview with Time magazine, Rae called Hollywood scared and clueless. That said, the Tubi partnership will empower the people and the narratives she wants to see more of.
“They have done a great job of seeing their audience, cultivating that audience, and now investing in that audience tenfold,” Rae told ESSENCE. “Not only investing in the audience, but they’re investing in creators to make long-form work for that audience and putting it in some ways in their hands to determine whether or not the work that’s produced out of this program is worthy enough to continue. And I love that about it because it fosters a creator and audience relationship that can often be ignored.”
Rae continued: “Democratize is the process, which is how I came up with my own digital background. But I really appreciate and I think it’s incredibly cool that they are actually and quite literally putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to black audiences and audiences of all diverse backgrounds, which the creators that are chosen will reflect.”
ColorCreative’s partnership with Tubi will support an array of projects.
President and Head of ColorCreative Management Talitha Watkins is excited to open the doors for more voices. In addition, she looks forward to offering support through production and mentorship. “We’re giving these creators a fast track. We’re giving them deep industry knowledge from all of the creators that we work with at ColorCreative, being able to crew up these productions,” she told ESSENCE.
Issa Rae continues to break new ground with ColorCreative’s partnership with Tubi. The first cohort includes rapper and songwriter Lady London, who went viral for her freestyles. Creatives can sign up for a free account and apply for the next cohort here.