Hart Expands His Attack
The ‘Fight Night’ star’s Hartbeat shingle has Olympic-sized plans
It’s a Tuesday morning in late July, and at a gigantic warehouse-turned-production facility in L.A.’S Canoga Park, Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson are in one studio riffing on the Summer Olympics. On the other side of the building, comedian Earthquake is recording a podcast. Meanwhile, teams of staffers are running around, working on one of the two dozen other projects across TV, film, audio, branded entertainment and experiential events that Hart’s entertainment company, Hartbeat, has in the pipeline.
You know Kevin Hart, the comedian and star of films like “Ride Along,” “Central Intelligence” and the just-released “Borderlands.” But he’d really like you to think of him as Kevin Hart, production maven. This year alone, he’s produced Netflix’s “The Roast of Tom Brady” and released films like the action thriller “Lift,” the comedy “Prom Dates” and the doc “Group Therapy.”
“Careerwise, I’m pretty happy with what I have achieved, but that star getting brighter isn’t an option,” Hart says during a break from shooting the Olympics show. “As far as becoming a bigger star, I think this is it. So the focus is about the entity.”
That entity, Hartbeat, was launched in 2022 through the merger of two companies — Laugh Out Loud and Hartbeat Prods. The combined Hartbeat quickly raised $100 million from investors like Peacock, where the multi-hyphenate’s talk show “Hart to Heart” just debuted its fourth season and his “Olympics Highlights Show” with Thompson is airing.
All of that is setting the stage for something even bigger: “Fight Night,” a heist story set in Atlanta on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight. Hart stars in the Peacock drama (which debuts Sept. 5) with Taraji P. Henson, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence Howard.
“These are the types of projects that we as a company want to make,” Hart says. “‘Fight Night’ I truly do believe is going to blow people away. And leave people wanting more. Not just from the idea of ‘Fight Night’ but from us as a company.”
Variety has learned what some of that “more” is. The company has extended its relationship with
Henson to develop “Moorewood Family Rules,” based on the novel by Helenkay Dimon. Justin Simien (“Dear White People”) will direct and executive produce, while Henson is set to star in what’s described as a “subversive family drama with comedic bite.”
“Comedy will always be in our DNA,” says Bryan Smiley, the president and chief content officer of Hartbeat. “But it’s not just comedy. Going forward, you’re going see a lot more of us leaning into cultural, broad-audience shows that reflect the premium nature of the stories we want to tell.”
On the unscripted side, Hartbeat is partnering with director Adam Bhala Lough (“Telemarketers”) on a docuseries that will explore the “opportunities and limits” of AI. The doc, which is based on New York Magazine reporting, will be fully funded by Hartbeat and produced with Vox Media Studios.
That’s an example of Hartbeat’s expansion beyond just being a home for projects starring Hart. Smiley notes that 85% of the projects in development don’t have their founder in front of the camera.
“The future of the company will be primarily not Kevin,” Smiley says. “Hartbeat as a brand, a media company and studio will be embracing the next generation of great talent, whether they’re comedy stars or writers or filmmakers across format.” (Besides Simien, Hartbeat is also working with “Harlem” creator Tracy Oliver on new projects.)
Hartbeat’s varied deals include unscripted with Peacock, a feature first-look deal with Netflix (which is currently developing the third of four films with Hart), a radio and podcast deal with Siriusxm and a joint venture with Charlemagne tha God at Audible. Hartbeat also has a FAST channel business.
Next up is the annual “Hartbeat Weekend,” a Labor Day event in Las Vegas featuring Hart and other comedians, as well as musical artists like Lil Wayne and Ludacris.
“Everything we do going forward, it’ll be the most premium version, whatever that idea is,” Smiley says. “We are going to be patient in that endeavor. The business model has to make more sense.”
“The future of the company will be primarily not Kevin. Hartbeat will be embracing the next generation of great talent.”
Bryan Smiley, Hartbeat president