SerpApi.Org
EXCLUSIVE: The explosion of vertical content has just gotten a bit bigger. Hollywood veterans Jeffrey Schenck, Barry Barnholtz and Peter Sullivan have teamed up to launch vertTV, described as a premium filmmaker-led studio delivering high-stakes, cinematic genre television for mobile audiences.
Optimized for on-the-go viewing, according to the co-founders, the subscription platform features snackable, fast-paced vertical episodes designed to draw in viewers instantly and redefine the emerging micro-series landscape.
Along with Wednesday’s rollout, vertTV revealed its development slate of original titles, which will be released monthly, kicking off today with Lone Star Hearts starring Cindy Busby and Josh Henderson. Talent also includes Vivica A. Fox, Chonda Pierce, Regan Burns, Barbara Crampton, Russell Todd, Richard Karn, and, in a reunion of Fuller House favorites, Marla Sokoloff, Jodie Sweetin, and John Brotherton (see vertTV descriptions below for details).
The platform has launched with the standalone vertTV mobile app, available on iOS and Android devices (vertTV.com), which serves as the primary subscription-based destination for the studio's entire original slate. vertTV also debuted its YouTube channel (@vertTVPlus), offering free access to select previews.
The vertTV app, designed around genre-driven viewing, is organized into dedicated programming verticals, including Drama/Thriller, Revenge and Secrets, Romance and Desire, and Holiday, allowing viewers to navigate content by mood, genre and storytelling style.
vertTV launches with a vault of more more than 200 exclusives spanning television, streaming and independent film. Talent includes Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day), Krista Allen (The Bold and the Beautiful), Corin Nemec (Parker Lewis Can't Lose), Noah Fernley (Love Story), Signed, Sealed, Delivered stars Kristin Booth and Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, and One Life to Live alums Jessica Morris, Brittany Underwood, and Jason-Shane Scott.
Based in Los Angeles, vertTV directly employs traditional television and film directors, network screenwriters, professional local crews, and recognizable actors. The company controls its entire pipeline in-house, covering everything from development and writing through production, post-production, technology creation, distribution, and user experience.
The platform also has a core strategic focus on partnerships, actively collaborating with established creators, independent producers, and library holders. Post-launch, vertTVplans to introduce ad-supported and à la carte viewing options.
Schenck, Barnholtz, and Sullivan launch vertTV following a multi-decade partnership at Hybrid. Combined, they have produced and directed several number-one films on Netflix's Top U.S. Movies chart, including the psychological thriller Secret Obsession, which drew 40M+ viewers in its first month, the romantic thriller Fatal Affair starring Nia Long and Omar Epps, and the holiday hit The Merry Gentlemen.
Additionally, the team produced and directed Hallmark Channel's Double Scoop and the highest-rated movie in the network's history, Christmas Under Wraps.
"For the past twenty years, our focus has been entirely on creating mainstream, character-driven stories that capture broad streaming and broadcast audiences,” said Schenck, on applying Hollywood standards to vertical storytelling. “We know that these viewers are increasingly consuming content on their mobile devices, but they are tired of the disposable, low-quality options currently flooding the market. vertTV is applying a traditional television network mindset to this exciting new format, ensuring that micro-series finally receive the star power and creative respect they deserve."Barnholtz on the evolution of content distribution:
"Independent film has always survived by adapting to new distribution models, from the height of the home video market to the rise of global streaming platforms, on the evolution of content distribution,” said Barnholtz. “vertTV is the natural progression of that evolution. By combining our massive legacy library with targeted new productions, we have built a sustainable studio vertical that can scale efficiently without ever compromising the high production values our audiences demand."
"Whether you are pacing a traditional 90-minute feature film or an 80-episode micro-series, the fundamental creative challenge remains exactly the same: keeping an audience entirely captivated by a gripping narrative,” said Sullivan on creating narratives that keep audiences hooked. “We are bringing our trusted network of professional television writers, directors, and actors into this space. vertTV treats the mobile screen with the exact same cinematic care, tension, and storytelling discipline as a traditional Hollywood production."
In addition to co-founders Schenck, Barnholtz and Sullivan, vertTV also encompasses a strategic advisory board that includes distribution and platform monetization experts Gene George and Matt Cohen. The platform's in-house production team is led by Brian Nolan and Ben Rosenthal.
Development Slate
Finding Hope: Written and directed by multi-hyphenate Marla Sokoloff, this premium small-town drama reunites Fuller House stars Jodie Sweetin and John Brotherton, along with Richard Karn (Home Improvement). The series follows Emily Harper (Sweetin), a successful big-city doctor who returns home to save the family's crumbling clinic after her father suffers a stroke, forcing her to navigate the local crisis alongside a skeptical hometown EMT (Brotherton) while choosing between her high-flying career and the community she left behind.
Wicked Wives: Executive produced by and starring Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill), this glamorous, high-stakes ensemble murder-mystery centers on an NBA wife and ICU nurse who relocates to Atlanta's most exclusive Black gated community and is quickly drawn into a world of secrets, infidelity, and murder led by a powerful circle of elite neighborhood wives.
Chonda: Starring legendary comedian Chonda Pierce and Regan Burns (Dog with a Blog), this warm, faith-adjacent, fish-out-of-water multi-cam follows a widowed mother who uproots her two sons from Tennessee to Los Angeles to finally chase her stand-up comedy dreams.
Lone Star Hearts: Set in the cutthroat, wealthy world of Texas oil, this soapy romance and corporate thriller stars Josh Henderson (Dallas) as charismatic tycoon Cooper Vale and Hallmark Channel star Cindy Busby as his sharp-witted ex, Isabelle. The plot centers around the daughter of a businessman whose life was destroyed by Vale. When she infiltrates the powerful tycoon's company to clear her father's name, she unexpectedly falls for the man she came to destroy.
Bad Blood: Tailored for a Gen Z audience hungry for dark academia and supernatural suspense, this thriller centers around a scholarship student investigating the suspicious murder of her best friend at the prestigious Weddington University. Her search leads her to The Crimson Circle, a secret society hiding centuries-old vampire bloodlines, where she finds herself torn between a fellow student with secrets of his own and a magnetic insider whose connection to the society runs far deeper than she realizes. The series also features horror icons Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) and Russell Todd (Friday the 13th Part 2) reuniting on the 40th Anniversary of their cult classic, Chopping Mall.
