)
SMUGGLER and The Independents join forces
)
Joining The Independents gives SMUGGLER access to a broader creative ecosystem while preserving the independence and culture that continue to define the company.
SMUGGLER, the award-winning global production company, announces that it has joined The Independents, one of the world's leading media communications groups.
SMUGGLER is built around a simple philosophy: champion exceptional storytellers, protect the creative process, and tell stories across whatever medium best serves the idea.
A philosophy, held with real conviction, that has taken the company from commercials and branded entertainment to film, television, documentaries, Broadway and immersive experiences, and earned SMUGGLER recognition including Emmy and Grammy Awards, 14 Tony Awards, five Ad Age Production Company of the Year honours, and top company honours at Cannes Lions, the British Arrows, AICP and Ciclope.
Recent projects include adidas' 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign Backyard Legends starring Timothée Chalamet alongside Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal and Trinity Rodman, and the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway. SMUGGLER's original documentary slate has topped the charts of the world's biggest platforms, most recently with Hulu's #1 limited series My Grandfather Manson and the Apple TV+ Messi series Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend and Messi Meets America.
Joining The Independents gives SMUGGLER access to a broader creative ecosystem while preserving the independence and culture that continue to define the company.
As the traditional boundaries between advertising, entertainment and culture continue to blur, the partnership creates new opportunities, greater reach, expanded capabilities for SMUGGLER's directors, producers and creative partners.
"We continue to have great belief in the enduring power of great storytelling, in exceptional talent, and in protecting the creative process. The Independents share those values. This next chapter provides the opportunity to think bigger, collaborate more broadly and create new opportunities for the extraordinary people who make SMUGGLER what it is." said Patrick Milling-Smith and Brian Carmody, Founding Partners, SMUGGLER.
