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Canela Media Launches AI-Driven Vertical Video App Zully, Aiming For Bilingual Microdrama Fans

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Hispanic upstart Canela Media has launched Zully, a new app for microdramas in both Spanish and English.

While Canela is smaller than legacy players TelevisaUnivision and Telemundo, it has a different business model. Without linear TV networks or expensive line items like sports rights, it is digitally focused, claiming a monthly audience of 60 million active users across AVOD, FAST, social media and YouTube. Isabel Rafferty-Zavala founded the company in 2019 and runs it as CEO.

The company announced Zully at its upfronts presentation to advertisers in New York. The luncheon event was held Monday afternoon at a restaurant across the street from Radio City Music Hall, which hosted NBCUniversal’s presentation earlier in the day.

Like its Hispanic-media competitors, and a growing number of others investing in the $11 billion market for micro-series, Canela sees a lot of upside in the space. Serialized vertical video series with episodes lasting just a few minutes apiece first established itself in Asia but has drawn significant investment Stateside in recent years. Some skeptics continue to wonder about its long-term sustainability, but a number of scaled players like Fox have dipped a toe into the market. NBCU announced a Bravo vertical video initiative coming to Peacock at its upfront Monday.

Canela’s approach differs from many others by virtue of being heavily reliant on artificial intelligence. A clip from one series, Pride of the Rancho, was shown at the upfront. A cross between a Jane Austen romance and Yellowstone, its live-action scenes were entirely AI-generated. While that can be tricky territory for guild signatories trying to reassure talent that they aren’t being supplanted by cheaper, non-human production methods, an emerging content outlet like Canela has fewer traditional restraints.

The company’s main hub of production is in Mexico, and the microdrama operation is aiming to generate as many as 30 series per month. Unlike others mixing scripted and unscripted, third-party and original, Canela is launching as a 100% scripted, fully owned-and-operated platform. The company says its progress to date in reaching younger, “culturally fluent” audiences will come into play with achieving scale with Zully. Like other Canela programming, Zully series will be free and ad-supported, though a subscription tier is a possibility down the line.

The app is “a natural extension of everything we’ve built at Canela Media over the past seven years,” Rafferty-Zavala said. “We’ve spent years deeply understanding how audiences express culture, move across platforms, and connect with stories, insights rooted in our leadership in the U.S. Hispanic market, where younger, diverse viewers are shaping what drama looks like for everyone.”

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Lucy Schulman: David Cross, Hasan Minhaj Movie Gets Release

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A comedy from first-time feature filmmaker Ellie Sachs is heading to theaters.

Aero Films has acquired North American rights to writer-director Sachs’ indie film Lucy Schulman and plans a theatrical release for early 2027, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Sachs also stars alongside David Cross, Thomas Mann and Hasan Minhaj in the movie that is set in New York City.

Lucy Schulman centers on Lucy (Sachs), who endures a devastating breakup and ends up moving back in with her quirky single dad (Cross) as she navigates cringeworthy dates and other personal challenges. It premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Festival.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Ellie and the filmmaking team to bring Lucy Schulman to audiences,” says Aero Films co-founder and CEO Ryan Pallas. “Ellie has crafted a distinctly New York comedy that feels both timeless and completely fresh. It’s funny, full of heart and exactly the kind of film we started Aero to champion. We’re excited to share it with audiences on the big screen.”

Sachs helmed the movie from her own script. Fernando Loureiro, Guilherme Coelho, Morwin Schmookler and Gabriel Amaral serve as producers. Executive producers include Cross, Pallas, Tristan Bland, Jay Burnley, Brian Devine, Sam Evoy, Will Day Frank, Will Janowitz, Anne Jarmain, Carissa Knol, Clay Prietsch, Kelly Schwartz, Sascha Seinfeld, Chelsea Tieu, Zachary Rice, Kyra Rogers and Todd Remis. UTA and Knol Hanly Garrett negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers, while Pallas negotiated for Aero Films.

“I feel very lucky to be working with Aero Films,” says Sachs. “The Aero team is brilliant; their instincts are spot on, and they got Lucy right from the jump. This is a movie straight from my heart, and it’s both an honor and a privilege to have it in theaters. I’m so excited for audiences to see it.”

Adds producer and Tigresa co-founder Loureiro, “Ellie created something truly special with Lucy Schulman, and we couldn’t be prouder of this film. Aero Films shares our passion for authentic storytelling, and we’re beyond excited to partner with them. We can’t wait for audiences to experience Lucy Schulman in theaters.”

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Madeleine Arthur & Dianne Doan Leading Psychological Horror ‘Doula’

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EXCLUSIVE: Madeleine Arthur (Devil In Ohio) and Dianne Doan (Warrior) are leading cast in Canadian-US psychological horror Doula, written and directed by Goldie Jones.

Principle photography is due to begins October 1 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with the support of the Manitoba Film and Music tax incentive.

The synopsis reads: “Inspired by strange true events, a doula (Doan) arrives at an isolated mountain cabin to help with a difficult delivery, only to become trapped alongside her pregnant client (Arthur) in a sadistic, reality-bending game where escape may come at a terrible price.”

James J Yi (Gook) is producing alongside Alice Teufack, Judd Tilyard (Silent Night) and Verity Fiction.
Andrea Chung (The Card Counter) is executive-producing with Carvel Rock Pictures along with Kristine Estorninos. Nicole Arbusto is casting director.

Madeleine Arthur is repped by Gersh Agency, McGood Talent Management and Brave Artists Management. Dianne Doan is repped by Principals Talent, Innovative Artists and Forward Entertainment.

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Ex-‘American Idol’ Contestant Caleb Flynn Found Guilty In Murder Of Wife

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An Ohio jury has returned multiple guilty verdicts against former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn in the murder earlier this year of his wife Ashley Flynn.

Caleb Flynn, a 40-year-old former worship pastor who competed in 2013 on American Idol, sobbed after nine guilty verdicts were read finding him guilty of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence.

The murder occurred in the Flynn’s home in Tipp City, Ohio, about 20 miles outside Dayton, in the early morning hours of February 16, 2026. The 37-year-old woman was fatally shot in the head as she slept in her bed.

Opening statements for the trial began on Friday, September 18, and closing arguments ended Tuesday, September 29. The Ohio jury deliberated for just two hours today following a week of trial testimony. During that week, Flynn’s mistress Alleigha Botner, 24, a worship leader at the same Tipp City church as Flynn, read from more than 100,000 text messages between herself and Flynn, some of which indicated Flynn’s murderous intentions.

In one exchange, Flynn wrote, “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail. If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That is how dark and how hateful I feel.”

The night before the murder, Flynn wrote to Botner, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow, February 16, a day I’ll never forget.” Botner has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

After the murder, Flynn told police that his wife had been shot by an intruder. Police early on suspected that the crime scene had been staged to look like a burglary.

Ashley Flynn was fatally shot while the couple’s two daughters, then ages 9 and 11, were asleep in the next room.

Caleb Flynn’s appearance on American Idol is largely remembered for his emotional tributes to his wife. During his “Road To Hollywood” interview from 2013, Flynn said “music is all I know” and that he’d been encouraged to audition by Ashley. “I absolutely love the Lord, and I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. I love her. I’m just a normal person who absolutely loves to sing more than anything in the world.”

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