Tom Segura’s YMH Studios and Fox Creator Studios have formed a strategic multi-project partnership to develop, finance and produce a broad slate of original content that will be released via YMH Studios’ direct-to-consumer platforms, with the initial slate moving into production this year.
The deal covers multiple series and formats, including a stand-up comedy showcase pairing established and emerging voices, a horror-comedy animated series and a live-action comedy set in an airport bar. YMH Studios, which generates more than 500 million annual impressions across a network of 25 shows and counts 2.1 million YouTube followers, will continue to operate its in-house advertising and sales infrastructure and its live-event business while using Fox’s resources to scale production.
Billy Parks, speaking for Fox Creator Studios, framed the partnership around YMH’s built business model: "They’ve created a true direct-to-consumer entertainment business with a loyal audience, proven monetization, and a repeatable creative engine." He added, "That’s exactly the kind of creator-led ecosystem Fox Creator Studios was built to support and help scale." Parks pointed to the network YMH has built — not just a single podcast, but a podcast network supported by owned shows, ad sales and pay-per-view content — and said, "They are building businesses on their own."
YMH Studios is headed by president Ryan P. Hall and includes on-air talent and personnel such as Bert Kreischer, Christine Pazsitzky, Lauren Compton and Danny Brown. The company produces and distributes premium live events, comedy specials and exclusive content through its direct-to-consumer business and is also connected with the touring venture 2 Bears 5K.
Fox Creator Studios, launched in January 2026 as a digital-first division, debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show with a stated goal of getting into business with established content entrepreneurs who have built multiple ventures on the foundation of successful podcasts and personalities. The new unit is designed to develop fresh formats, IP and talent by tapping into the creator community, and Parks said that YMH’s "fierce independence and understanding of his own audience and the direct-to-consumer relationship is very in sync with what we’re doing at Creator Studio."
For Segura, the partnership is a chance to expand the studio’s ambitions without surrendering the direct connection to fans he and his partners have cultivated. "We’ve spent years building a business where we can create independently and stay directly connected to our audience," Segura said. "Fox Creator Studios understands that model and brings the infrastructure and reach to help us expand it in a meaningful way." He also acknowledged the practical hurdle of bigger productions: "Everyone knows it takes money to work with the people you want to work with, and you need it to just to get the cameras rolling."
The move comes as Segura simultaneously continues his track record as a stand-up draw: he has headlined seven Netflix comedy specials since 2014 and created, stars in and executive produces the dark sketch comedy Bad Thoughts; its six-episode second season launched on May 24. (See Bad Thoughts Season 2 Lands on Netflix: Tom Segura’s Dark Sketches Return for more.)
The tension inside the arrangement is practical rather than philosophical: YMH has built a profitable, creator-led engine with its own ad sales and direct-to-consumer pay offerings, and Fox Creator Studios brings distribution muscle and financing to take larger swings. If the partnership tilts too far toward traditional studio control, it would threaten the very independence Parks and Segura say Fox wants to nurture; if it tilts too little, YMH may miss the chance to finance the more ambitious projects on the slate.
What happens next is concrete. The companies say the initial slate moves into production this year, with Fox providing infrastructure and reach while YMH supplies the creative pipeline and direct audience relationships. The partnership therefore promises to turn YMH’s existing podcast-and-live-event business into a broader creator-led studio model capable of delivering genre series, showcases and specials directly to paying audiences.
