Mix of Hollywood Blockbusters, Award-Winning Indies, Classic TV and Hand-Picked Exclusive and Original Content

COS COB, Conn., April 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company and one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) networks, today announced the upcoming content releases planned for April.

The Crackle Plus streaming services are currently distributed through 70 touch points in the U.S. on platforms including Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and Xbox One), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com, with previously announced plans to expand to over 90 touch points.

New Crackle AVOD Originals

Les NortonLes Norton is a ten episode limited series starring Rebel Wilson and based on the best-selling book series by Robert G. Barrett. Set in 1985, the series follows the exploits of Les Norton (Alexander Bertrand), a country bloke from outback Queensland. On the run from a troubled past, he blows into Sydney where he lands a job as a bouncer at a notorious illegal casino in Kings Cross and tangles with Rebel’s brothel owner, Doreen. A classic fish out of water who is desperate to get home, he soon finds himself seduced by the city’s illicit charms and dragged into a web of underground criminality.

New Crackle AVOD Exclusives

Sherlock The highly successful, new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes – starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson – comes to Crackle. Sherlock Holmes, an analytical deduction fanatic, is helping on police investigations for fun when he runs into potential flatmate Dr. John Watson, fresh from serving in the war in Afghanistan and sporting a limp. In spite of Watson's initial skepticism, Holmes' brilliant mind and dangerous lifestyle offer the stimulation he craves, and the two quickly forge an alliance. Sherlock provides the inspired leaps of intellect, while Watson keeps his friend's flights of fancy grounded – creating the perfect pairing for a legendary partnership. 

We Are CVNT5 This​ ​is​ ​a mockumentary​ chronicling​ ​the​ ​antics​ ​of​ ​electronic​ ​music​ ​supergroup​ ​CVNT5​ (Gareth Emery, Paul Holowaty).​ ​The​ ​EDM giants​ ​reach​​ ​soaring​ ​highs​ ​and​ ​crushing​ ​lows​ ​of​ ​superstardom.

Fairwood (April 14) Fairwood follows the exploits of Rusty and Clark Fairwood, colorfully quirky small-town entertainers with an infectiously upbeat, family-oriented “positivistic” philosophy. Thrust unexpectedly into the limelight as hosts of their own talk show in their rustic hometown of East Plains, Rusty and Clark unite their neighbors against the all-powerful Pentalode Corporation while looking for love and making plans to “extend the Fairwood family line.”

New BBC Titles

In addition to giving our audience exclusive access to four seasons of the hit award-winning series Sherlock, we are also going to be offering new series from the BBC library every month! Here are just a few of the amazing shows you will now be able to watch for FREE on Crackle!  

The Musketeers On the streets of 17th century Paris, law and order is more a fledgling idea than reality, and the Musketeers are far more than merely royal bodyguards for King Louis XIII.

Silent Witness Everybody tells a story. A crack team of forensic pathologists reveal the truth behind murders and accidental deaths.

Ripper StreetAfter Jack the Ripper's killings, London is emerging into peace, hopeful that this killer has finished. Nowhere is this truer than the H Division, its men hunted this maniac and didn't find him.

Happy ValleySarah Lancashire stars as Catherine Cawood, a police sergeant in a small town. Her world is turned upside down when the man she thinks is responsible for her daughter's death is released from prison.

The Coroner A high-flying lawyer returns, after a messy divorce, to the small town she escaped as a teenager to take up the post of Coroner. She finds herself thrown together with her old flame who broke her heart twenty years ago – now the local policeman – and they are forced to work together.

New Channels for April

Workplace ComediesFor all you workaholics who can’t seem to leave the office behind, hit the break room and tune into shows like Dilbert (Chris Elliot, Larry Miller), Dr.Ken (Ken Jeong, Suzy Nakamaura), NewsRadio (Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Joe Rogan), and Just Shoot Me! (Wendie Malick, David Spade).

True CrimePut on your detective hat and wrap your mind around suspenseful mysteries like After the Murder of Albert Lima (Aengus James), The Family Who Vanished, The Suspect and Unsolved Mysteries (Dennis Farina).

Sci FiBlast off with the Crackle crew and discover a universe of imaginative fantasy with titles like Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (Megumi Odaka), Quark (Cyb Barnstable, Richard Benjamin) created by Hollywood legend Buck Henry, Starman (Robert Hays, Christopher Daniel Barnes), and Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Foundation (Colleen Porch, Kelly Carlson).

Crime Novel AdaptationsOf all the streaming platforms in the market, these titles walked into Crackle. Get your noir on with these hard-boiled novels come to life on screen with Mary Higgins Clark: Around the Town (Kim Schraner, Nastassja Kinski), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (Lindsay Bloom, Kent Williams), A Kind of Murder (Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel), and Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (Tom Selleck, Viola Davis). 

In Deep WaterLash yourself to the deck as the SS Crackle navigates into choppy waters with the Wolfgang Petersen 1981 classic Das Boot (Jürgen Prochnow, Klaus Wennemann), Lake Placid 2 (John Schneider, Sarah Lafleur), The Mercy (Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz), and Sea Wolf (Neve Campbell, Tim Roth).

New to Crackle Spotlight in April

Starman Director John Carpenter presents a romantic science fiction odyssey starring Jeff Bridges as an innocent alien from a distant planet who learns what it means to be a man in love. When his spacecraft is shot down over Wisconsin, Starman (Bridges) arrives at the remote cabin of a distraught young widow, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), and clones the form of her dead husband. The alien convinces Jenny to drive him to Arizona, explaining that if he isn't picked up by his mothership in three days, he'll die. Hot on their trail are government agents, intent on capturing the alien, dead or alive. En route, Starman demonstrates the power of universal love, while Jenny rediscovers her human feelings for passion.

Battle Los AngelesWitness the end of civilization unfold as hostile alien invaders attack the planet. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. Now it's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered in this epic sci-fi action film.

Starsky & Hutch Forever redefining the television police drama, Starsky & Hutch is just as daring and dynamic as it was when it first debuted in 1975. Whether it be chasing down the baddies in their souped-up Grand Torino or getting an inside tip from streetwise ally “Huggy Bear”, Detectives Starsky and Hutch always solve their case with plenty of panache...and only a few broken windows!

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling After severely burning himself, a comedian has a near-death experience and looks back on his life. Directed and starring comedy legend Richard Pryor, the film also stars Debbie Allen and Art Evans.

The Bible Collection This film starring Gary Oldman, Debra Messing, Jacqueline Bisset, and Jeremy Sisto (as Jesus) looks at the life of Jesus from His humble beginnings as a carpenter through His extraordinary life and the mission of His spiritual destiny.

The Flying Nun The misadventures of a nun who can fly (Sally Field) and her convent and neighbors. 

Bye Bye Birdie Starring Ann-Margret, Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh this movie tells the story of a rock singer who travels to a small Ohio town to make his "farewell" television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted.

First Kill A Wall Street broker (Colin Farrell) is forced to evade a police chief (Bruce Willis) investigating a bank robbery as he attempts to recover the stolen money in exchange for his son's life.

Bent In this searing crime-thriller starring Andy Garcia and Sofia Vergara, a discredited cop (Karl Urban) hunting for his partner’s killer accidentally uncovers a deadly government conspiracy tied to a woman’s car-bomb murder.

Dark Tide A traumatized shark expert (Halle Berry) must battle her own fears to lead a thrill-seeking businessman on a dive into a dangerous section of water known as "Shark Alley."

Additional New Movies in April

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENTChicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) (the “Company”) operates streaming video-on-demand networks (VOD). The Company owns Crackle Plus, which owns and operates a variety of ad-supported and subscription-based VOD networks including Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The Company also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media and 1091 Pictures subsidiaries and produces original video content through the Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to our core strategy, operating income and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds, and access to financing sources, free cash flows, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, the ability of the Company’s content offerings to achieve market acceptance, the Company’s success in retaining or recruiting officers, key employees, or directors, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to complete strategic acquisitions, the ability to manage growth and integrate acquired operations, the ability to pay dividends, regulatory or operational risks, and general market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, to be filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

INVESTOR RELATIONS Taylor KrafchikEllipsiscsse@ellipsisir.com(646) 776-0886

MEDIA CONTACTKate BarretteRooneyPartners LLCkbarrette@rooneypartners.com(212) 223-0561