Conservative Outlet Blaze Media Makes First Movie Acquisition With Comedy ‘Re-Opening’, Lines Up Scripted Series

Andreas Wiseman
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative media company Blaze has made its first exclusive movie acquisition in the shape of comedy Re-Opening. The company is also lining up further comedy acquisitions and its first scripted series.

Re-Opening, which won a handful of awards at North American indie and comedy festivals last year, follows the cast and crew of a struggling theater in Pigeon Valley, Tennessee, as they attempt to prepare the theater to reopen after months of being closed down due to the Covid lockdown. You can see a trailer below.

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The mockumentary, which nods to classics of the genre such as Waiting For Guffman, is co-directed, co-produced and co-written by TikTok comedy actory and Groundlings alum Chris Guerra who also stars alongside Kelsey Cooke (who also produces), Patty Guggenheim, Emily Pendergast and Leonard Robinson.

The film will be streamed to BlazeTV subscribers on May 4.

Blaze, which is following in the footsteps of fellow conservative site The Daily Wire by launching a film and scripted TV division, tells us it is looking to make further film acquisitions in order to diversify its subscription offering (but unlike The Daily Wire it will focus on comedy).

The company is in development on a comedy series it describes as “a love letter to small-town America featuring two dune buggy-delivering paperboys at the Dusty Bluffs Gazette” in the vein of “Napoleon Dynamite and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure“.

Kelsey Cooke, co-founder of Thisishardtoread Productions, told us: “We are thrilled about our collaboration with Blaze Media and the selection of Re-Opening as the flagship acquisition for their feature comedy lineup. As an independent filmmaker, one of the biggest hurdles is finding a distributor who not only values but truly understands your project. Our team is excited to work with the team at Blaze Media, and we look forward to delivering more outstanding feature comedies together in the future.”

Tyler Cardon, CEO of Blaze Media, added: “There have been few events in the history of our country that have caused the kind of widespread fear and panic as COVID-19. Widespread hysteria, justified or not, often provides an embarrassment of riches for comedians and artists willing to ‘go there.’ We’re thrilled to partner with thisishardtoread productions and MK Pictures, who definitely ‘went there’ with Re-Opening. Laughing is cathartic.”

Blaze’s stable of TV and podcast hosts includes Glenn Beck, Jason Whitlock, Mark Levin, Dave Rubin, Phil Robertson and Allie Beth Stuckey.

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