Paper Kite Productions

Paper Kite Productions is an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Amy Poehler.^[1]
The company, based in Los Angeles, California, specializes in developing and producing scripted series for streaming platforms and networks.^[2]
Among its notable achievements, Paper Kite co-produced the Netflix series Russian Doll (2019–2022), a critically acclaimed time-loop comedy-drama starring Natasha Lyonne, which earned multiple Emmy nominations for its innovative storytelling and performances.^[3][1]
Other projects include Peacock's The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, blending reality and documentary elements to explore decluttering and life reflection.^[1]
In 2025, the company expanded into audio content by appointing Jenna Weiss-Berman, a veteran podcast executive, to head its burgeoning podcast division, signaling a diversification beyond visual media.^[1]

History

Founding and early years

Paper Kite Productions was founded on August 14, 2002, by actress and comedian Amy Poehler in New York City.^[4] The company, named after the lightweight and resilient paper kite, reflected Poehler's improvisational background from her time with the Upright Citizens Brigade and Saturday Night Live, where she performed from 2001 to 2008.^[5] In its initial years, Paper Kite operated on a modest scale, focusing on television development amid Poehler's rising profile. The company's first significant project was the Nickelodeon animated series The Mighty B!, which Poehler co-created, executive produced, and voiced the lead character Bessie Higgenbottom; it premiered on April 26, 2008, and ran for two seasons until 2011, marking the debut of Paper Kite's production logo.^[6] This Nickelodeon collaboration represented an early foray into family-oriented animation, producing 40 episodes that showcased Poehler's comedic style centered on an overly enthusiastic Girl Scout.^[4] Through the late 2000s, Paper Kite remained primarily a vehicle for Poehler's creative output, with limited public output beyond The Mighty B! as the company built partnerships and honed its production capabilities before expanding into broader scripted content in the 2010s.^[7]

Expansion and recent developments

In 2024, Paper Kite Productions expanded its portfolio into podcasting through a deepened partnership with Audacy, launching the weekly advice series Million Dollar Advice, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser and featuring expert guests on financial topics.^[8] This initiative built on earlier audio explorations, including a slate of improvised comedic podcasts parodying popular formats, developed in collaboration with creative teams to homage and satirize podcast tropes.^[9] The company further grew its audio division in February 2025 by hiring Jenna Weiss-Berman, former head of spoken audio at Audacy, as executive producer to oversee podcast development and production.^[1] Under this leadership, Paper Kite announced Good Hang, an upcoming podcast hosted by Amy Poehler, executive produced with The Ringer's Bill Simmons and distributed via Spotify, emphasizing conversational comedy.^[10][11] These moves reflect Paper Kite's strategic pivot toward emerging media platforms, leveraging Poehler's comedic expertise to diversify beyond television series like Russian Doll and competition formats.^[3] The audio expansion aligns with broader industry trends in serialized content, positioning the company as a full-service producer across visual and auditory formats.^[12]

Leadership and key personnel

Founders and executives

Paper Kite Productions was founded by Amy Poehler, an American actress, comedian, writer, director, and producer known for her work on Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation.^[1] Poehler established the company to develop female-driven content in film, television, and audio formats.^[13] As the founder, she maintains oversight as the primary executive leader.^[14] In October 2017, Poehler promoted Kate Arend to co-president of film and television, recognizing her contributions to development efforts.^[15] Simultaneously, Kim Lessing was elevated to head of development and production, where she oversees script evaluation, pilot production, and series management.^[15] Prior to these roles, both had served in junior capacities at the company, contributing to projects like Broad City and Difficult People. Brooke Posch previously co-headed the company as executive producer until her departure in early 2018 to join Jax Media, during which she co-developed pilots and series including Broad City (Comedy Central) and Making It (NBC).^[14] In February 2025, the company hired Jenna Weiss-Berman, formerly executive vice president of podcasts at Audacy, as head of its audio unit to expand podcast production.^[1] Additional personnel include creative executives such as Kate Kouns, focused on television development.^[16] The leadership structure emphasizes collaborative development under Poehler's vision, with a small core team handling multi-platform content.

Notable hires and team structure

In 2017, Paper Kite Productions promoted Kate Arend to Head of Production after over four years with the company, recognizing her contributions to projects including Broad City and Difficult People.^[15] Concurrently, Kim Lessing was elevated to Head of Development following three years at the company, where she had previously served in development roles supporting series like Park and Recreation spin-offs and original content.^[15] These internal advancements coincided with the departure of executive Brooke Posch, who transitioned to other opportunities in television production.^[15] The company expanded its leadership in 2025 by hiring Jenna Weiss-Berman as Head of Audio and Podcasts, drawing from her prior roles at Audacy and Pineapple Street Media, where she oversaw hit series like The Daily and developed narrative podcasts.^[1] Weiss-Berman's appointment aimed to bolster Paper Kite's audio division, building on executive productions such as Million Dollar Advice.^[8] Supporting the executive layer, the team includes creative executives like Kate Kouns, who focuses on television development and production initiatives.^[17] Overall, Paper Kite operates as a boutique entity with a streamlined structure emphasizing specialized heads in development/production and audio, enabling agile collaboration under founder Amy Poehler's oversight rather than a large hierarchical organization typical of major studios.^[1]

Productions

Television series

Paper Kite Productions entered television production with the Nickelodeon animated series The Mighty B!, co-created by Amy Poehler, which premiered on April 26, 2008, and ran for two seasons until 2011, featuring Poehler voicing the lead character Bessie Higgenbottom in comedic adventures centered on a hyper-enthusiastic Girl Scout.^[18] The company expanded into live-action comedy with Broad City, a Comedy Central series that aired from 2014 to 2019 across five seasons, following the misadventures of two millennial friends in New York City, co-created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson.^[15] Similarly, Difficult People, a Hulu comedy series produced from 2015 to 2017 over three seasons, depicted aspiring comedians navigating the entertainment industry, created by Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner.^[15] In the late 2010s, Paper Kite diversified into sitcoms and competition formats, including the NBC single-camera comedy I Feel Bad, which ran for one season in 2018, based on Sarcastelle's book and starring Sarayu Blue as a mother grappling with parental guilt.^[19] The company also co-produced the crafting competition Making It, hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, which debuted on NBC in 2018 and continued through multiple seasons, emphasizing handmade projects with cash prizes.^[20] Russian Doll, a Netflix existential comedy-drama created by Natasha Lyonne, premiered in 2019 and concluded after two seasons in 2022, with Lyonne starring as a woman trapped in a time loop.^[20] Subsequent animated efforts included Duncanville, a Fox series from 2020 to 2022 across three seasons, co-created by Poehler, Mike Scully, and Julie Scully, following a teenage boy's daydreams and family life with Poehler voicing his mother.^[21] Harlem, created by Tracy Oliver for Amazon Prime Video, debuted in 2021 and is set to end with its third season in 2025, chronicling four female friends pursuing careers and relationships in New York.^[22] More recently, the Peacock reality series The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning launched in 2023, produced in association with Scout Productions, where participants declutter possessions in preparation for later life stages, narrated by Poehler.^[23] These projects reflect Paper Kite's focus on character-driven comedies and unscripted formats, often featuring female-led narratives and Poehler's creative input.

Films

Paper Kite Productions produced its debut feature film, Wine Country, in 2019. Directed by Amy Poehler, the comedy depicts a group of longtime friends reuniting for a birthday celebration in Napa Valley, starring Poehler alongside Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, and Paula Pell. The film was released directly to Netflix on May 10, 2019.^[24] In 2021, the company released Moxie, a teen comedy-drama also directed by Poehler. Adapted from Jennifer Mathieu's novel, it follows a high school student who creates an anonymous zine to challenge sexism at her school, sparking a feminist movement among her peers; Poehler appears as the protagonist's mother, with Hadley Robinson in the lead role. Distributed by Netflix, it premiered on March 26, 2021.^[25] Poehler directed the company's first documentary, Lucy and Desi, in 2022. The film examines the personal and professional partnership of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, including their innovations in television production and the challenges they faced as a mixed-ethnicity couple in Hollywood. Featuring archival footage and interviews with family members and colleagues, it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2022, before streaming on Amazon Prime Video from March 4, 2022.^[26] First Time Female Director, released in 2024, marked the company's most recent film production. Written, directed by, and starring Chelsea Peretti, the comedy follows a novice female director navigating chaos during rehearsals for a play in a small theater. Co-produced with MarVista Entertainment and distributed by Roku, it became available on the platform on March 8, 2024.^[27]

Podcasts and audio content

Paper Kite Productions launched its audio division, Paper Kite Podcasts, in fall 2023 through a partnership with Audacy Podcasts, focusing on original scripted and improvised comedy content.^[28] The inaugural series, Say More with Dr. Sheila, debuted on September 20, 2023, as the first installment in a planned three-season scripted comedy franchise featuring satirical takes on self-help and therapy sessions.^[28] In May 2024, the division released Women Talkin' 'Bout Murder, an improvised comedy podcast starring writers and producers Liz Cackowski and Emily Spivey as inept true-crime hosts Donna and Jobeth, who investigate fictional cases with chaotic enthusiasm.^[29] That same month, Paper Kite expanded its Audacy collaboration to include additional titles like The Chris Chatman Do-Over, a narrative comedy series, alongside advice-oriented programming such as Million Dollar Advice, hosted by Kim Lessing and Kate Arend, which offers career and workplace guidance drawn from their entertainment industry experiences.^[30] To bolster its audio operations, Paper Kite hired Jenna Weiss-Berman, formerly of Audacy and Pineapple Street Media, as head of the unit in February 2025; she oversees development and production of new scripted and unscripted podcasts.^[1] The division's output emphasizes humor rooted in interpersonal dynamics and professional absurdities, distributed primarily via platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.^[12]

Reception and legacy

Critical reception

Productions from Paper Kite Productions have garnered generally positive critical reception, particularly for television series emphasizing innovative storytelling and character-driven comedy. The Netflix series Russian Doll (2019–2022), co-created by Natasha Lyonne and executive produced under the Paper Kite banner, earned widespread acclaim for its time-loop narrative and existential themes, achieving a 97% Tomatometer score for its first season based on 74 reviews. Critics praised its sharp writing and Lyonne's performance, with The New York Times highlighting its "brilliant" fusion of humor and profundity. The second season maintained strong approval at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes from 49 reviews, though some reviewers noted a slight dilution of the original's intensity.^[31] In film, reception has been more mixed, often commending ensemble dynamics while critiquing formulaic elements. Amy Poehler's directorial debut Wine Country (2019), a Netflix comedy featuring Saturday Night Live alumni, received a 66% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 90 reviews, with consensus acknowledging its "robust" cast chemistry but uneven pacing. Variety described it as a "serviceable" reunion vehicle elevated by improvisational flair, though it underperformed expectations for broader laughs. Similarly, Moxie (2021), a teen feminist drama directed by Poehler, holds a 70% Tomatometer score from 114 reviews, lauded for addressing sexism in schools but faulted for didacticism; one analysis called it a "flawed rallying cry" that simplifies complex issues despite strong young leads.^[32][33][34] Audio content from Paper Kite's expanding podcast division has also drawn favorable notice, with scripted series like Say More with Dr. Sheila (2023) hitting number one on Apple Podcasts' comedy chart and earning selection as a top podcast of the year by The New York Times for its gleeful absurdity in therapeutic satire. Critics appreciated the unhinged energy, though coverage remains limited compared to visual media. Overall, the company's output aligns with Poehler's comedic sensibilities, succeeding most where it innovates on personal and cultural introspection, while facing scrutiny for occasional reliance on familiar tropes in mainstream outlets.^[35]

Commercial performance and impact

Paper Kite Productions has generated commercial success primarily through television series with strong viewership and critical metrics that supported renewals and network deals. The company's executive production of Broad City on Comedy Central resulted in season 1 averaging 1.2 million viewers per episode, marking the network's highest-rated first season since 2012. ^[36] Later seasons maintained solid performance, with the season 4 premiere drawing 879,000 total viewers and a 0.40 rating in adults 18-49, reflecting increases from prior openers. ^[37] The series sustained a weekly audience of approximately 4.3 million viewers, contributing to its five-season run from 2014 to 2019. ^[38] For streaming, Russian Doll on Netflix demonstrated elevated audience demand, measuring 3.4 to 3.8 times the average for U.S. TV series in recent tracking periods, which underpinned its renewal for a second season. ^[39] The season 2 premiere ranked #8 on Nielsen's streaming top 10 originals for the week of April 18-24, 2022, indicating sustained engagement post-launch. ^[40] These metrics, combined with high IMDb user ratings of 7.7 from over 114,000 votes, positioned the series as a viable investment for Netflix despite not achieving blockbuster viewership volumes. ^[41] The company's track record facilitated lucrative development deals, including a multi-year overall agreement with Universal Television in 2016, enabling sales of multiple pilots to networks like NBC and ABC within short periods. ^{[7] [42]} This success has extended to audio, with a 2023 three-podcast deal with Audacy and a 2025 hire of a dedicated audio head, signaling diversification into profitable non-scripted content. ^{[43] [1]} In terms of broader impact, Paper Kite's outputs have influenced the comedy genre by delivering female-driven narratives that achieved crossover appeal, as evidenced by Broad City's role in elevating web-to-TV adaptations and Russian Doll's innovative premise driving demand metrics above industry norms. These projects underscore the company's ability to produce content with repeatable commercial viability, though specific revenue figures for the production entity remain undisclosed.

Criticisms and controversies

In October 2025, the podcast Good Hang with Amy Poehler, co-produced by Paper Kite Productions and The Ringer, drew backlash for featuring comedian Aziz Ansari as a guest on the episode released October 14. Ansari faced a 2018 sexual misconduct allegation from a woman who detailed a date involving unwanted advances in a Babe.net article, which Ansari described as a miscommunication after consuming alcohol, leading to his public apology while denying intent to coerce; no legal charges resulted, and the incident remains disputed as either assault or a regrettable encounter depending on perspectives. Social media users and commentators criticized Poehler for platforming Ansari without confronting the allegation, accusing her of "whitewashing" his reputation and prioritizing celebrity camaraderie over accountability in the post-#MeToo era.^[44][45][46] The controversy amplified online, with detractors on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit labeling the decision tone-deaf, while supporters argued the invitation reflected Ansari's professional rehabilitation after years out of the spotlight and lack of formal findings against him. Paper Kite, through executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, handled production aspects but issued no public response to the uproar. Coverage in outlets like HuffPost and The Daily Beast highlighted the polarized reactions, though the episode itself focused on Ansari's career anecdotes, flip phone usage, and collaborations with Poehler on Parks and Recreation, garnering over 100,000 streams in its first week per podcast analytics.^[45][44][47] No lawsuits or formal investigations have targeted Paper Kite Productions, and other projects like Russian Doll (2019–2022) and Making It (2018–2021) have elicited minor viewer critiques—such as repetitive character tropes or overly whimsical hosting—but no widespread scandals. Executive turnover, including Brooke Posch's 2017 departure to Jax Media, was reported as routine without acrimony.^[15][48]