HarbourView Equity Partners and the Steward family have led a $30 million minority investment into Lion Forge Entertainment, the Newark-based studio founded by David Steward II. The investment is designed to deepen Lion Forge’s ownership of original intellectual property and to accelerate the company’s pipeline of family, youth and adult franchises.
HarbourView described the move as a strategic bet on culturally rooted storytelling with global appeal. Sherrese Clarke, HarbourView’s chief executive, said the firm sees a market opening for authentic, franchise-grade content and intends to work with Lion Forge to cultivate new multiplatform properties. David Steward II called the backing a validating moment for the studio and flagged the combination of investment discipline and creative leadership as the engine for future growth.
Lion Forge arrives at this moment with tangible assets. The studio counts the Oscar-winning short Hair Love among its credits and has an expanding roster of series and feature prospects that include the breakout fantasy Iyanu, which debuted strongly on Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Cartoon Network and HBO Max have greenlit a second season and two feature films for the Iyanu universe, signalling commercial momentum behind Lion Forge’s IP.
The studio also holds a multi-year first-look deal with Nickelodeon that has produced projects in development with high-profile partners. Those partnerships include a Marley and the Family Band series in collaboration with the Bob Marley Estate, an adaptation of the children’s classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in partnership with Simon & Schuster, and Iron Dragon with Mostapes. Lion Forge has moved beyond single-title production into forming long-term alliances that help de-risk franchise development.
From an industry perspective the investment matters for two reasons. First, it signals that institutional capital is ready to underwrite studios led by diverse founders. Second, it demonstrates investor appetite for vertically integrated models that own IP and can monetise across streaming, linear, publishing and consumer products. HarbourView’s recent financing activity and portfolio strategy underscore a wider shift: asset managers are actively building content platforms that pair catalogue value with new franchise creation.
The Steward family and Polarity remain majority owners of Lion Forge, preserving the founding group’s strategic control while bringing in external capital. The funds will be allocated to scale the studio’s creative development and franchise operations and to support organic growth across animation, live action and unscripted content verticals. Lion Forge’s leadership emphasised that the new capital will enable both higher-value production and a more deliberate global licensing strategy.
Lion Forge’s trajectory illustrates a broader commercial thesis now at work in entertainment. Studios that can deliver culturally authentic stories with clear franchise potential command premium interest from platform owners and institutional investors alike. For Lion Forge the challenge will be execution: translating positive launch metrics into durable, cross-platform revenue streams while maintaining the creative authenticity that defines the brand.
HarbourView’s investment also carries practical implications for the production calendar. With Season 2 of Iyanu and two feature projects already greenlit, Lion Forge will need to move quickly to scale production teams, secure international distribution windows, and expand merchandising and licensing partnerships to capture downstream value. The studio’s first-look relationship with major children’s publishers and estates provides a ready pipeline for IP expansion if the company executes to plan.
For observers of media investment the deal is further evidence that capital markets have adjusted to new growth vectors inside content. Music catalog finance and slate financing have paved the way for this sort of multi-asset approach, and HarbourView’s recent KKR-backed securitisations suggest that hybrid financing structures are becoming mainstream. Lion Forge’s new backing places it at the intersection of creative ambition and sophisticated capital solutions.
The immediate watchlist for industry insiders includes the studio’s rollout timetable for Iyanu Season 2 and the accompanying features, the development pace under the Nickelodeon first-look, and how quickly Lion Forge translates greenlights into visible retail, broadcast and streaming revenue. If the team can convert the current momentum into repeatable franchise launches, Lion Forge will move from a celebrated independent studio to an IP owner of scale.
