Tradition Pictures, the independent production company led by CEO Matthew Einstein, is launching a multi-project television collaboration with Artists for Artists, the banner run by Kenan Thompson and John Ryan Jr. Project details remain under wraps.
The partnership arrives as Tradition significantly expands its operation, adding a new advisory board that includes veteran producer Mark Canton, Big Time Rush star James Maslow, and Power franchise actor, director, and executive producer Joseph Sikora. The company has also formed joint ventures with Echobend for production services and Finesse for post-production, alongside a docuseries partnership with Stephen Neely’s Agents of Change, whose credits include Good Night Oppy, Spector, and Hip Hop Uncovered, and an IP partnership with Daniele Bolelli’s History on Fire.
For Thompson, whose Artists for Artists banner has operated largely outside the spotlight compared to his decades-long run on Saturday Night Live, this collaboration positions the company for a multi-project television slate rather than a single standalone deal, a structure that typically signals a longer-term creative partnership rather than one-off development. Pairing an SNL institution’s production arm with an independent company actively scaling its executive bench and genre range suggests both sides are betting on sustained output rather than a single marquee project.
Founded in 2015, Tradition has built a track record across scripted, documentary, and unscripted work, including The Mental State, Heval, and A Class of Her Own. Recent completed projects include To Kill a Nazi, narrated by Jason Alexander, and Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story, which premiered at Palm Springs in January, with Tradition serving as executive producer. The company’s film First Person, starring Valene Kane, Odessa Young, and Jazzy De Lisser, secured distribution through Buffalo 8 and released last month. Einstein leads the company alongside president Neal Batra, with Alex Rotaru as development and acquisitions executive, Fred Richter (Creed III, Winning Time, Barry) as acquisitions consultant, Brian Hightman as strategic consultant, and Brandon Russell as creative coordinator.
Einstein described the moment as one where Tradition is scaling with new partners and a deeper executive roster while maintaining the specificity that built the company, adding that more news is still to come. Batra framed the expansion around backing distinctly human creative work as automation continues reshaping the industry.
With project details still under wraps and “more exciting news” already teased, the real story here is what Thompson and Ryan Jr. choose to build first under this new partnership, and whether it moves Artists for Artists into more visible territory than it’s occupied so far.