Time Studios & Sugar23 Team To Launch Scripted Division

Time Studios has partnered with Sugar23, the management and creative platform from Oscar winner Michael Sugar, to launch a joint scripted division focused on developing and producing scripted projects for film and TV.

For the Emmy-winning documentary and immersive division of global media brand Time, the partnership marks a first major push into the scripted space.

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In developing new projects with Sugar23, Time Studios will draw on Time’s archive of exclusive content from the last 98 years, as well as its trusted journalism, which reaches an audience of more than 100 million people around the world. Sugar23 exec Kaveh Veyssi will oversee projects under the umbrella of the new partnership, in the role of VP of Film & TV, Time Studios.

“At TIME Studios, truth-based storytelling that moves the world sits at the heart of our creative drive,” said Time Studios’ President, Ian Orefice. “There are no better partners than Michael, Kaveh and Sugar23 to launch this important next chapter of TIME Studios as we further that mission now with world-class scripted content.”

“TIME is an iconic and global brand and has already become a true force in unscripted documentary and television,” added Sugar. “We are immensely proud to announce our partnership with TIME Studios, Ian Orefice, and his incredible team at TIME as we aim to continue to bring impactful, entertaining stories to the mainstream, together.”

Time Studios and Sugar23 currently have a pair of scripted projects in development. Jon Wertheim and Jeff Pearlman will pen the first, which looks to spotlight the heroes that emerged from the tragic events at Sandy Hook, as well as the resilience of the human spirit. The second will examine the now-infamous container ship known as The Ever Given, and the chaos that unfolded, when it ran aground in the Suez Canal.

TIME Studios and Sugar23 will also look to partner on unscripted projects and new podcast properties. They most recently partnered with Trevor Noah’s Day Zero Productions to announce The Tipping Point, a docuseries that will explore the rapidly shifting developments across our culture that are promising to reshape our world.

The first scripted project to be announced by Time Studios was Women of the Year, a scripted anthology series which Alma Har’el is creating for Amazon Studios. That show adapted from the historic Time 100 Women of the Year project will bring to life the stories of the remarkable women who have defined the past century.

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