Reese Witherspoon and Mediawan announced on 26 May 2026 that they had bought Hello Sunshine back from Candle Media for a low‑to‑mid eight‑figure sum, Axios reports.
The transaction reverses the 2021 deal in which Candle Media, backed by $2 billion from Blackstone, acquired a controlling stake in the company for more than $900 million amid the streaming boom.
Hello Sunshine, founded in 2016, has produced award‑winning series such as "Big Little Lies" and "The Morning Show" and generated over $900 million in U.S. book sales through its Book Club, giving it a valuable IP portfolio.
Candle Media’s debt burden, highlighted by CFO James Smith, and the shift of streamers like Netflix toward cost‑control forced the company to offload assets, analysts say.
Witherspoon’s return signals a refocus on original content, and Mediawan plans to integrate Hello Sunshine’s catalog into its global distribution network, aiming to launch new projects in 2027.