Tech giant Shopify launches TV and film production studio in Toronto

Canadian tech giant Shopify has launched Shopify Studios in Toronto.

The commerce leader, which powers over 600,000 merchants worldwide, launched a full-service TV and film content development and production house dedicated to inspiring entrepreneurship.

According to the company, the studios will leverage partnerships with internationally known creators and producers to develop, produce, and finance projects for streaming platforms as well as traditional networks.

While the studio’s team is headquartered in Toronto, other team members will operate from Shopify offices in New York and Los Angeles as well.

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Shopify Studios also says that it has already set deals with Anonymous Content, Spoke Studios (part of Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse Entertainment), and Saville Productions.

“Behind every product, system, and modern convenience that makes the world turn is an entrepreneur with an idea,” said Jason Badal, head of Shopify Studios.

“We believe that spirit is inherent and present among us all, whether we realize it or not, and Shopify Studios’ content aims to inspire the next wave of creators and iconoclasts to embrace and manifest the possibilities before them.”

Saville Productions Founder and Executive Producer Rupert Maconick said that Shopify is leading a path of innovation for how companies approach entertainment content.

“We are very excited to partner with them to inspire entrepreneurship through storytelling,” said Maconick. “Our mission has always been to create content that provides true entertainment value, and Shopify Studios’ commitment to developing narratives that are thought-provoking and entertain viewers makes it a perfect synergy.”

Shopify Studios also produces short to mid-form content – including weekly series – for Shopify’s YouTube channel.

Every business has a story; a story rooted in the dreams, motivations, struggles and triumphs of its founders.

Tune into Shopify Studios and explore the extraordinary stories of ordinary people who just happen to be entrepreneurs. https://t.co/xYVlfZ3A2n

— Shopify (@Shopify) January 23, 2019

In September, the Ottawa-based e-commerce platform announced it’s investing as much as $500 million in Toronto to lease a 254,000-sq-ft office at The Well, one of the city’s biggest office developments, which is located at Front and Spadina and slated to open in 2022.