Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s Crackle Debuts Award-Winning Basketball Documentary ‘The Green Wave’ on October 21

The Crackle Original Documentary Recounts the Emotional Impact of a High School Basketball Coach Killed in the Line of Duty and His Lasting Legacy


COS COB, Conn., Oct. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) announced today that the award-winning documentary, The Green Wave, will premiere exclusively on Crackle on October 21, 2021. Directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Guido Verweyen (After the Fire, Blood Relatives, Dance Moms, Raising Asia), The Green Wave tells the incredible true comeback story of the Summerville High School basketball team after their coach, Louis Mulkey, a dedicated firefighter, is killed in the line of duty in a deadly catastrophic fire.

Mulkey was much more to his students than a coach on the field. Mulkey was dedicated to improving the lives of his students, looking beyond racial lines to empower them to chase their dreams both on and off the field. Mulkey’s dedication helped instill core values in his team that changed the game from an after-school program to an experience that shaped their future.

“The acquisition of The Green Wave supports our mission to provide viewers with inspirational, entertaining, and inspiring content,” said Jeff Meier, Head of Programming, Crackle Plus. “We are thrilled to share this story with our viewers and to honor Louis Mulkey’s incredible legacy.”

Mulkey’s legacy continues on today in success stories including NFL star A.J. Green, and other former student athletes who continue making waves as coaches, fathers and successful businessmen. “If it wasn’t for coach Louis, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” stated Green. The Green Wave was the recipient of the “Best Documentary Award” at the Los Angeles International Film Festival.

The film’s director, Guido Verweyen said, “When I set out to make this film about a firefighter turned high school coach who impacted the lives of so many students and athletes, I had no idea how compelling and complex each of the characters’ stories would be. I can't wait for the Crackle audience to get the first glimpse of this incredibly inspiring story.”

As one of the only AVODs continually adding original and exclusive programming that uplifts, entertains, and inspires audiences, The Green Wave will join Crackle’s robust library of sports-related content including Vince Carter: Legacy, which premiered October 1, and Promiseland, chronicling the rise of Memphis Grizzlies star and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant. Previously, the network premiered On Point, a docu-series that follows top-ranked college basketball players Romeo Langford, Scottie Lewis and Emmitt Williams as they compete in summer AAU season, and Anything is Possible: The Serge Ibaka Story, a documentary about the journey of LA Clippers player Serge Ibaka from the cement courts of The Republic of Congo to the NBA.

The Green Wave is distributed in North America by Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. company and the supplier of exclusive and original content to Crackle Plus.

The Crackle Plus networks are currently distributed through 50 touch points in the U.S. with announced plans to expand to over 64 touch points including Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and XBoxOne), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com. Crackle is also available in approximately 500,000 hotel rooms in the Marriott Bonvoy chain.

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) 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, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The company also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media subsidiary and produces original long and short-form content through Landmark Studio Group, Chicken Soup for the Soul Unscripted, APlus.com and Halcyon Television. 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 STATEMENTS
This 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, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021, and for further information regarding our recent acquisition of the Sonar library and related assets, please see our Current Reports on Form 8-K, as amended, filed with the SEC on May 27, 2021 and July 1, 2021. 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.

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