Crackle Plus, the streaming service owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, is looking to push further into the original content game as it gears up to launch a new series dubbed “Inside the Black Box,” the first tangible piece of a multi-year deal the ad-supported platform inked with Publicis Media’s APX Content Ventures.

The function of APX, in short, is to provide financial backing—and little else—for original series and films, explained John Nolan, APX Content Ventures’ managing director, emphasizing that the Publicis Media-owned brand does not dictate the content of the projects that it funds. 

Its role is to aid platforms in churning out higher-quality content more frequently—particularly when it comes to backing projects by creators of diverse racial backgrounds and genders—because “the better the stuff [entertainment platforms] make, the more value they have for Publicis clients,” he said. “We’re there to make the content that they want to make.”

This comes as brands and agencies look to work with more minority-owned platforms and diverse creators in an effort to reach and more authentically connect with multicultural audiences. 

“They came to us with the concept of ‘Inside the Black Box,’” Nolan added of the Crackle team, which has been in discussion with APX about the show since as early as 2019.

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Shaping up as a series of 10 one-hour episodes that’ll dive into the experiences of being Black in Hollywood, the show will be hosted by Emmy-winning actor Joe Morton alongside acting coach and casting director Tracey Moore, both of whom will engage in performance components and interviews with celebrity guests. It will premiere exclusively on Crackle Plus in mid-February.

First established as a joint venture between its current parent company and Sony a few years ago, Crackle Plus is available in the U.S. via most major smart TVs, gaming consoles, its iOS and Android apps, as well as on roughly half a million hotel room screens as part of a deal with Marriott Bonvoy.

Crackle Plus did not disclose viewership figures. But up to 95% of its users access it on TV, or “the biggest screen in the house,” said Darren Olive, the AVOD platform’s executive VP of national sales and strategy.

The launch of “Inside the Black Box” also symbolizes the brand’s gameplan of “taking chances, delivering more diverse content, and making sure we’re representing all races, all nationalities,” he added, noting that the Chicken Soup for the Soul-owned service recently branched into other veins of original content including documentaries and reality shows.

The new series will be sponsored by The General, placing the insurance brand throughout the show and the Crackle Plus platform.

“We thought long and hard about how to tangibly integrate them into the set,” said Nolan. The show’s production team eventually settled on the creation of what it’s calling “The General Audience.” It's a special branded section of the theater where “Inside the Black Box” is filmed that’s reserved for VIP audience members, who will be able to engage more directly with the hosts throughout the series.

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The General’s sponsorship deal also gives it a handful of more traditional advertising components, including pre-roll ads and QR code integrations, as well as opportunities outside of the Crackle platform such as out-of-home billboards and a social campaign. “It’s a full representation both in-show and show-adjacent,” said Olive.

The series will also utilize what Crackle is calling an “in-app jumbotron” that offers both it and The General additional branded space.

The General, once known for its direct-response commercials starring its animated military general mascot, phased out some of its well-known imagery and jingle amid a rebrand last year. The insurance company selected independent Chicago-based creative shop Highdive, which has won multiple Ad Age Small Agency of the Year nods, to revamp its image.