Wonder Studios is building a bridge from the internet to the living room. The entertainment company announced an agreement this week (October 20) with Foundation Distribution — a first-of-its-kind deal that will bring work from exceptional independent filmmakers who built their audiences online onto TV streaming services worldwide, including Roku, Samsung TV and Amazon.

First up is Season 2 of Beyond the Loop, Wonder’s flagship anthology, which backs filmmakers to make original short films with a stake in what they create and a route from shorts to features and series. The season, already released on YouTube and Wonder TV, now heads to television as individual titles in their own right — not folded into an always-on channel. Its filmmakers include Grammy-nominated artist Jidenna, making his directorial debut; Kavan the Kid, whose short films have drawn more than 100 million views; and BAFTA-winning editor Hal Watmough, who has joined Wonder as Head of Post. The anthology has drawn 14.8 million combined views to date and was executive produced by CapCut, ElevenLabs, OpenArt and invideo.

“This deal with Foundation marks a watershed moment for Wonder,” said CEO and co-founder Xavier Collins. “What started as a mission to help filmmakers becoming founders has now materialised into a position where emerging talent is having their content broadcast into millions of homes worldwide.” Foundation Distribution president Sarah Craig said bringing online creator content to connected TV “doesn’t dilute existing audiences — it amplifies them by meeting viewers wherever they watch.”

Founded by filmmaker and creative technologist Justin Hackney with marketplace entrepreneur Xavier Collins, Wonder has raised more than $15 million from investors including Atomico, LocalGlobe, Blackbird and Adobe Ventures. After Beyond the Loop, the company will bring further longer-form films and series from its community to TV under the deal, and plans to commission new originals. As Hackney puts it: “Substance over algorithm has been our north star from day one.”