NEW COMEDY SERIES "FAIRWOOD" PREMIERES ON CRACKLE SPRING 2022

From musical team Steve Richard and Tim Mauldin and veteran showrunner Bud Schaetzle, "FAIRWOOD" will preview at the 2022 Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival

NEW YORK, February 4, 2022 - Award-winning recording artists Steve Richard and Tim Mauldin, aka The Fairwood Brothers, have joined forces to create a brand-new comedy series with writer/director Bud Schaetzle, the creative mind behind televised events starring Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Wynonna Judd, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks.

FAIRWOOD is a co-production of Richard's Force MP Television and Schaetzle's Metropolitan Sound + Vision. The six-episode first season will be available on Crackle, a Chicken Soup for The Soul Entertainment streaming service, beginning in April, and will debut this summer on Latin American and European platforms. The series will also be previewed at the 2022 Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival on February 4.

"Our team is excited to bring season one of Fairwood to the Crackle audience," said Jeff Meier, head of programming for Crackle Plus. "This kind of hilarious offbeat comedy is exactly what our audience is looking for to bring some much needed laughter into their days."

FAIRWOOD is a quirky single-camera series that follows the exploits of Rusty and Clark Fairwood, colorful small-town entertainers with an infectious, upbeat "positivistic" philosophy. Thrust unexpectedly into the limelight as hosts of a talk show on Channel 29 in their rustic hometown of East Plains, the Brothers unite their relatives, friends and neighbors against the all-powerful Pentalode Corporation, whose carpetbagging executives work to overrun the town and take control of its unexploited natural resources.

Richard and Mauldin introduced the happy-go-lucky characters Rusty and Clark on their faith-based rock album Contrary to Popular Belief in 2012. With a funny, charming and moral worldview, The Fairwood Brothers were created to represent the power of the underdog - and to highlight through music and storytelling the value of community, family, and The Golden Rule. The characters appeared in several experimental projects before partnering with Metropolitan.

"Rusty and Clark's offbeat, idealistic worldview is a breath of fresh air in these challenging times," says Schaetzle. "With so many viewers looking for uplifting programming, we hope FAIRWOOD will help remind us all that we can be better friends and neighbors."

FAIRWOOD also stars Grammy winner and Grand Ole Opry member Pam Tillis ("Nashville", "Promised Land"), Broadway and primetime vet Robert Stoeckle ("The Americans", "Law and Order"), Karen Sternberg ("I Only Miss You When I'm Breathing"), Jonothon Mitchell ("Hillbilly Elegy"), Tamiko Robinson Steele ("Smoketown"), William McKinney ("Journey to Royal"), Tatiana Zappardino ("NCIS: New Orleans"), Dean Shortland ("Dolly Parton's Heartstrings"), Cali Elizabeth Moore ("30 Rock"), Rolando Madrigal ("Your Worst Nightmare"), and Becky Fly ("The Help").

The Fairwood Brothers' musical roots run deep. Steve Richard ("Rusty Fairwood") has recorded several acclaimed faith-based albums. His Top 40 single "Keep on Rollin'" made its world premiere on CMT, and "Stomp" fueled a line-dance craze and served as the basis for a video game. His second album 'Up to Something' produced his first #1, "Eighty Acre Church," which along with "Love's Gotta Go Somewhere" made a splash on the Music Row Chart. Musician, actor, and audio engineer Tim Mauldin ("Clark Fairwood") was the bandleader and guitarist for Pinkeye D'Gekko, a Contemporary Christian band that toured with Craig Morgan, Bryan White, Junior Brown, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Flynnville Train, Whiskey Falls, Eric Church, and Halfway to Hazard. Mauldin has also opened for Chuck Berry, Ted Nugent, Marshall Tucker, VanZant, and Lonestar.

Over the past three decades, Bud Schaetzle and his creative teams have produced thousands of hours of live, recorded and televised entertainment. Their awards and nominations include Grammys, Emmys, ACMs, CMAs, MTV, CMT, VH1, Ace, Billboard, GMA, Music City News, Golden Europa, U.S. Film Festival and MIFED. He introduced Garth Brooks to American broadcast audiences via NBC's landmark special This Is Garth Brooks; produced the most successful music pay-per-view in history with The Judds Farewell Concert; wrote and produced Ordinary Miracles for Hallmark; directed the pilot episodes for Iron Chef USA and The Road; and is writing and producing the upcoming dramatic series Black River with Avenue Pictures.

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

Chicken 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 subsidiary 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.