Hello Sunshine cuts about 30 jobs, half its staff, weeks after Witherspoon buyback

Layoffs hit weeks after buyback

The cuts came on Friday, TheWrap reported. Hello Sunshine declined to comment, and no internal memo is public.

The roles cut suggest Hello Sunshine employed around 60 people before the layoffs.

The buyback drew attention amid reports of Hello Sunshine's declining valuation.

The company that comes out of this is smaller and narrower: film, television and Reese's Book Club. It follows Candle Media's push into lifestyle products and direct-to-consumer sales. Viewers keep the scripted slate and the book club. Competitors face a studio with far less consumer-facing machinery behind it.

Witherspoon and Mediawan announced the buyback on 13 October. In a statement at the time, she said Mediawan "has built a global, independent studio by putting creators first". She called the deal "a homecoming". She also said she was investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams.

A smaller company focused on film, TV and books

Remaining staff will work across film and television, Reese's Book Club, social and digital marketing and partnerships, according to TheWrap. The company is gutting its direct-to-consumer division.

Under Candle Media, Hello Sunshine had expanded beyond production into lifestyle offerings, merchandise and other consumer-facing activities. Reese's Book Club stays central. The company says it reaches 6.2 million readers. So does the slate that made the company's name: Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, Little Fires Everywhere, Daisy Jones & The Six and Where the Crawdads Sing.

Hello Sunshine started in 2016 with backing from Peter Chernin and Jesse Jacobs through The Chernin Group. Reese's Book Club launched in 2017. Some of its selections later became film and television projects.

The buyback economics

Candle Media acquired a controlling stake in Hello Sunshine in 2021 at a valuation of around $900 million. Neither side has disclosed what the 2026 buyback cost. Axios reported the price was in the low-to-mid eight figures. TheWrap reported that even an estimated $50 million would represent a drop of around 94% from the 2021 valuation. Candle Media declined to comment on the price.

Deadline reported that Candle Media likely incurred a loss on the sale, citing sources familiar with the deal. Startefacts reported that Blackstone put more than $500 million in cash into Hello Sunshine's shareholders in 2021.

Candle Media started in 2021 with Blackstone's backing and bought businesses during the boom. Axios said the Hello Sunshine sale reflected a shift away from its plan to build an integrated media company that could be sold or floated. Streaming services have since tightened content budgets. That leaves production companies valued during the boom looking expensive, according to industry observers.

How Candle's experiment unwound

Under Candle Media, Hello Sunshine went through at least four rounds of layoffs in the previous two years. The cuts hit its unscripted department and the Gen Z-focused lifestyle brand Sunnie. Candle Media closed the kids and animation unit in 2023. In 2024 it consolidated its live-action division, including Hello Sunshine's, into Candle Studios. Sarah Harden led Candle Studios until she stepped down a year later.

The cuts therefore land on a company that had already shrunk for two years, not on the business Candle bought at the top of the streaming boom. Candle has not commented publicly on the layoffs.

What is still unknown

It is not clear which roles or departments the cuts hit beyond the direct-to-consumer division.

Hello Sunshine has not announced cancellations of any named film or series alongside the cuts. Mediawan's involvement is expected to give Hello Sunshine access to a larger international production network. Mediawan, based in Paris, has bought a series of independent studios, including Plan B Entertainment, Chernin Entertainment and See Saw Films.