Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine shrinks considerably.
Earlier this month, Witherspoon bought her production company from Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed label that acquired a majority stake in 2021. With the backing of French conglomerate Mediawan, the actress could have acquired the banner for just a fraction of the $900 million Candle Media paid for it. Now, after just a few weeks at the helm, Witherspoon has laid off about 30 employees, or about 50 percent of Hello Sunshine’s staff.
Variety learned of the layoff news from multiple sources, who noted that Hello Sunshine would now focus primarily on film and television projects and the Reese’s Book Club brand, with the direct-to-consumer division being eliminated. Representatives for Hello Sunshine declined a request for comment.
Although Witherspoon and Mediawan’s control of Hello Sunshine is new, the company is no stranger to layoffs. Under Candle Media’s leadership, the company has experienced at least four rounds of staff reductions in the past two years alone, particularly affecting the unscripted department and Gen Z-oriented lifestyle brand Sunnie. Candle Media also closed Hello Sunshine’s kids and animation unit in 2023. In 2024, it consolidated its live-action division, including that of Hello Sunshine, into Candle Studios, led by Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden until she stepped down a year later.
When Witherspoon bought Hello Sunshine, she wrote in a statement that “the best is yet to come.”
“Mediawan has built a global, independent studio by putting creators first. This has always been my vision for Hello Sunshine,” its statement read. “I am investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams because it is the ideal home for this new media landscape. It is also a return to basics. Peter Chernin and Jesse Jacobs believed in Hello Sunshine from day one. I am deeply proud of what our incredible team has built, and grateful to Blackstone and Candle Media for their partnership and unwavering support.”
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