Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company and one of the largest operators of advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming services, announced today the premiere of the AVOD exclusive series In the Vault on June 1, exclusively on Crackle. Season two of the thriller will launch this fall as a Crackle original.

Created by Ben Epstein (Happyland, Daddy’s Girls), the series stars Audrey Whitby (The Thundermans, Townies), Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus), Caleb Castille (NCIS: Los Angeles, Tell Me a Story), Paul Karmiryan (The Dead Girls Detective Agency, Veronica Mars), Taylor Gray (American Princess, Star Wars: Rebels), Julia Kelly (The Deleted, Freakish), Tim Granaderos (13 Reasons Why, The Sex Lives of College Girls) and Claudia Lee (Famous in Love, Hart of Dixie). 

During season one of In the Vault, a student is killed at a party one month into freshman year at college. Focusing on the victim's surviving dorm hall-mates as they come to suspect one another of being the killer, each student has secrets that may or may not serve as a motive, and none are safe from the others’ suspicions. Every episode spotlights a different hallmate as a protagonist one week and a suspect the next.

“In the Vault is exactly the kind of edge of your seat suspense that the Crackle audience always loves,” said Jeff Meier, head of programming for Crackle Plus. “Add in the star quality with such great young talent, and this series delivers on all fronts and will have your heart pounding through every twist and turn of this perfect weekend binge-able series.”

"In the Vault is the work of an extremely talented cast and crew, and I'm so thrilled Crackle is giving everyone a chance to showcase their inspiring efforts,” said In the Vault creator, Ben Epstein. “College is a time of reinvention; when you first arrive, everyone knows ‘who’ you are, but no one really knows who you are. So along the way of this campus-set whodunnit, we hope to shock, scare, titillate and intrigue you — and maybe make you laugh a bit as well."

In the Vault is distributed in the U.S. by Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. company and the supplier of exclusive and original content to Crackle Plus. Crackle Plus’ recent releases include the exclusive scripted series Les Norton, which stars Alexander Bertram and Rebel Wilson, Tia Mowery’s Comfort Kitchen, the suspense thriller Blast, audience favorite Inside the Black Box and the award-winning BBC series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. They also recently announced season three of the award-winning Ashton Kutcher-produced series Going From Broke. 

The Crackle Plus streaming services are currently distributed through 70 touchpoints 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 touchpoints. 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) (the “Company”) operates video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services. The Company owns Crackle Plus, which owns and operates a variety of ad- supported VOD streaming services 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 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, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2022. On May 10, 2022, the Company entered into a merger agreement to acquire Redbox Entertainment, Inc. We refer you to the presentation filed as Exhibit 99.2 under cover of a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the SEC on May 22, 2022 for information regarding the proposed business acquisition transaction. If the proposed business acquisition is consummated, in addition to the risks noted above, we also face the risks detailed in Redbox’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 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.