Passionflix
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Type of site | OTT platform |
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| Founded | May 2017 |
| Headquarters |  Atlanta, Georgia |
| Area served | Original contents: Worldwide Licensed contents: U.S. only |
| Founder(s) | |
| Key people |
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| Industry | Entertainment |
| Products |
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| Services |
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| URL | passionflix |
| Registration | Required |
Passionflix is an entertainment streaming platform and production company. Founded in 2017 by director and producer Tosca Musk, screenwriter Joany Kane, and producer Jina Panebianco, it focuses on releasing original film adaptations of the best-selling romantic novels, while also streaming classic romantic movies. Passionflix also makes erotic thrillers.[1]
The Hollywood Reporter describes Passionflix productions in general as "saucier than Hallmark but much tamer than porn, tamer even than some R-rated movies."[2] No frontal nudity below the waist is shown.[2][3] As co-founder and CEO Tosca Musk explains, "Passionflix is there to remove shame from sexuality... We are there to encourage connection, communication and compromise in relationships and we’re there to validate emotions."[4] Movies and television series on this platform are categorized according to a "barometer of naughtiness" ranging from "Oh so vanilla" (for romantic comedies) to "NSFW" (not safe for work).[5] The New York Times characterizes these as having "simple" plots and "sometimes unrefined" acting.[3] Wired opines that the "acting is good, the actors are hot, and the plots deliver; don’t ask about the cinematography."[6] Each film has a budget of no more than $10 million and is typically shot within a fortnight.[6] "Founding members" or "Signature members"—fans who paid a premium subscription—have the right to be on set during filming and offer their views on what should be done. Some might even appear as extras.[6][7] Musk likens this form of fan service to having her own "focus group" on set.[6]
Although the platform is technically available worldwide, licensed contents can only be watched in the United States.[8] Subtitles are available in nine languages.[7]
Company history
[edit]In 2015, Joany Kane conceived of a movie-streaming service focusing on romance—a "Netflix for women"—dubbed Passionflix.[6] Tosca Musk and Jina Panebianco joined Kane in her efforts to create this platform and Passionflix was officially launched in May 2017.[8][9][10] The streaming service went online September 1, that same year.[11] Musk stated that her goal was to capture the market for adaptations of romance novels, a genre generally neglected by Hollywood, and to tell these stories from the female perspective.[2][3] Musk, Kane, and Panebianco take advantage of their prior experience making television films, which can be produced more quickly and affordably than those on Netflix.[8] But Musk maintains that her company does not compete with Netflix because it aims at a niche market.[12] She complains that mainstream entertainment productions "tend to be more about the victimization of women than they are about sexually free or sexually empowered stories about women"[5] and that "I kept getting into conflicts with network executives, who were not interested in stories about empowered women embracing their sexuality."[3] Although the customer base is predominantly women, the number of subscribers who are men has been growing.[4] For the first three years of Passionflix, Maye Musk (Tosca's mother) ran the company's Instagram account.[12]
Originally headquartered in Los Angeles, Passionflix was relocated to the Atlanta metropolitan area in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to advantage of the State of Georgia's tax incentives for film production, the low cost of living and housing for the company's employees, and the quality of public schools for their children.[13] At a public screening of the company's first film, Hollywood Dirt (2017), Musk persuaded 4,000 people to pre-pay $100 each for a two-year subscription. She then used this money to convince potential investors that there was merit in her business idea.[5] In 2020, Musk managed to raise $4.75 million in venture capital funding for her new company.[6] In 2022, she received another $9.4 million in investment.[14] Investors in Passionflix include Jason Calacanis, Kimbal Musk (Tosca's and Elon's brother), Lyn and Norman Lear, among others.[8][10]
Initially, each original film was produced for just around a million dollars. But the budget steadily grew as the company moved towards producing series and historical romance movies.[8] By 2024, Passionflix has reached a stage where the company's name is no longer unknown to romance authors, making it less challenging to negotiate an adaptation.[2]
In late January 2025, hundreds of customers canceled their Passionflix subscriptions in response to Tosca's public support of her brother after he was accused of giving a Nazi salute.[15] In early June, the Passionflix website temporarily went offline due to a surge of visitors. This incident coincided with the public altercation between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Tosca Musk used this opportunity to promote her company's new series The Black Dagger Brotherhood, an adaptation of paranormal romance novels of the same name by J.R. Ward.[16]
Original adaptations
[edit]Passionflix originals
[edit]| Year | Film | Cast | Novel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Hollywood Dirt | Emma Rigby, Johann Urb | Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre |
| 2017 | Afterburn/Aftershock | Caitlyn Leahy, Tyler Johnson | Afterburn/Aftershock by Sylvia Day |
| 2017 | The Trouble With Mistletoe | Rachel Melvin, Thomas Beaudoin | The Trouble With Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis |
| 2018 | The Matchmaker's Playbook | Nick Bateman, Caitlin Carver | The Matchmaker's Playbook by Rachel Van Dyken |
| 2018 | Mr. 365 | Chelsea Hobbs, Christopher Russell | Mr. 365 by Ruth Clampett |
| 2019 | The Protector | Emma Rigby, Diarmaid Murtagh | The Protector by Jodi Ellen Malpas |
| 2019 | A Brother's Honor | Jeremy Batiste, Celestine Rae | A Brother's Honor by Brenda Jackson |
| 2019 | Dirty Sexy Saint | Jordan Lane Price, David A. Gregory | Dirty Sexy Saint by Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde |
| 2020 | The Will | Megan Dodds, Chris L. McKenna | The Will by Kristen Ashley |
| May 2020 | Gabriel's Inferno Part I | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard |
| July 2020 | Gabriel's Inferno Part II | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard |
| November 2020 | Gabriel's Inferno Part III | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard |
| May 2021 | Wicked | Anna Maiche, Liam Hall | Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout |
| October 2021 | Seduction and Snacks | Mela Green, Vince Hill-Bedford | Seduction & Snacks by Tara Sivec |
| November 2021 | Gabriel's Rapture Part 1 | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Rapture by Sylvain Reynard |
| February 2022 | Tangled | Katherine Hughes, Josh Plasse | Tangled by Emma Chase |
| March 2022 | Gabriel's Rapture Part 2 | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Rapture by Sylvain Reynard |
| July 2022 | Resisting Roots | Elizabeth Posey, Lou Ferrigno Jr. | Resisting Roots by Audrey Carlan |
| August 2022 | Gabriel's Rapture Part 3 | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Rapture by Sylvain Reynard |
| October 2022 | Torn | Anna Maiche, Liam Hall | Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout |
| March 2023 | Wait With Me | Madison Lawlor, Andrew Biernat | Wait With Me by Amy Daws |
| June 2023 | Gabriel's Redemption Part 1 | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard |
| October 2023 | Gabriel's Redemption Part 2 | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard |
| December 2023 | Gabriel's Redemption Part 3 | Melanie Zanetti, Giulio Berruti | Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard |
| April 2024 | Wallbanger | Kelli Berglund, Amadeus Serafini | Wallbanger by Alice Clayton |
| August 2024 | The Air He Breathes | Kelcie Stranahan, Ryan Carnes | The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C. Cherry |
| October 2024 | A Man's Promise | Jasmine Johnson, Michael Marcel | A Man's Promise by Brenda Jackson |
| December 2024 | Lick | Brooke Lee, Travis Burns | Lick by Kylie Scott |
| February 2025 | A Lover's Vow | Dayna Dooley, Robert Christopher Riley | A Lover's Vow by Brenda Jackson |
| Fall 2025 | Beauty from Pain | Samantha Allsop, Jackson Galagher | Beauty from Pain by Georgia Cates |
TV series adaptations
[edit]| Year | Series | Cast | Novel | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Driven season 1 | Olivia Applegate, Casey Deidrick | Driven by K. Bromberg | 6 |
| 2021 | Driven season 2 | Olivia Applegate, Michael Roark | Fueled by K. Bromberg | 4 |
| May 2022 | Driven season 3 | Olivia Applegate, Michael Roark | Crashed by K. Bromberg | 6 |
| December 2022 | The Secret Life of Amy Bensen season 1 | Maddie McCormick, Casey King | The Secret Life of Amy Bensen by Lisa Renee Jones | 6 |
| August 2023 | The Secret Life of Amy Bensen season 2 | Maddie McCormick, Casey King | The Secret Life of Amy Bensen by Lisa Renee Jones | 6 |
| June 2025 | The Black Dagger Brotherhood season 1 | Olivia Applegate, Robert Maaser | Dark Lover by J. R. Ward | 5 |
Quickie short films
[edit]| Year | Film | Cast | Novel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | A Quickie | Tyler Johnson, Emily Peck | A Quickie by Jodi Ellen Malpas |
| 2018 | Dry Spell | Jes Meza, Anthony Bless | Dry Spell by Vi Keeland |
| 2018 | Wrapped Up in You | Thomas Hobson, James Austin Kerr | Wrapped Up In You by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine |
| 2019 | The Naughty List | James Paladino | The Naughty List by Emma Chase |
| 2020 | Sexy Scrooge | Rachele Schank, Greg Perrow | Sexy Scrooge by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward |
| 2020 | A Holiday Lift | Karla Mosley, Blake Cooper Griffin | A Holiday Lift by Corinne Michaels |
| 2020 | Just Say When | Keelin Woodell, Khylin Rhambo | Just Say When by Jill Shalvis |
| 2020 | The Package | Heather Grace Hancock, Coby Ryan McLaughlin | The Package by K. Bromberg |
| 2020 | The Merry Mistake | Jacqi Vene, Geovanni Gopradi | The Merry Mistake by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward |
| 2021 | Hooked | Nicola Bertram, Jamison Jones | Hooked by Nina Bocci |
| 2022 | Dirty Sweet Valentine | Mayumi Roller, Jason Coviello | Dirty Sweet Valentine by Laurelin Paige |
References
[edit]- ^ Penta, Anthony (June 7, 2023). "Crimes of Desire: A Casefile on the Erotic Thriller". Lo Specchio Scuro. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Keegan, Rebecca (February 13, 2025). "Elon Musk's Sister Is a Hopeless Romantic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Barnes, Brooks (June 2, 2022). "Forget Twitter. This Musk Is Into 'Toe Curling Yumminess.'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ a b Stephan, Katcy (December 20, 2024). "How Tosca Musk Crafted Passionflix, the World's Steamiest Niche Streaming Service". Variety. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c Karimi, Faith (November 20, 2022). "Tosca Musk, Elon's sister, has a business venture of her own – and it's all about romance and female sexuality". CNN. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Lieberman, Hallie (June 11, 2020). "The Musk of Romance". Wired. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ a b Pollock, Sarabeth (October 11, 2023). "Passionflix: everything you need to know about the romance streaming service". What to Watch. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Ha, Anthony (November 2, 2017). "Tosca Musk raises $4.75M for Passionflix, a streaming service that's all about romance – TechCrunch". Tech Crunch. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ Rodale, Maya (September 19, 2017). "PassionFlix Is A Female-Led Streaming Service That Brings Romance Novels To The Small Screen". Bustle. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Weiss, Geoff (February 1, 2018). "Tosca Musk Launches Streaming Service That Celebrates The Female Gaze - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "It's Smart, Sexy and It Streams Romance All Day - Passionflix Launches". Newswire. October 18, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "Tosca Musk's passion project". ABC News. November 29, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
- ^ Ho, Rodney (March 18, 2024). "Tosca Musk, Elon's sister, embraces Georgia as home for streamer Passionflix". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ^ Werpin, Alex (September 2, 2022). "AMC Networks Leads $9.4M Investment Round in Tosca Musk's Streaming Service Passionflix (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ Derra Adolphus, Emell (January 24, 2025). "Musk Sister's Sex-Positive Streamer Suffers After His Salute". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ Patterson, Kenneal (June 7, 2025). "Musk's Sister's Erotic Streamer Surges Amid Trump Break-Up". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
External links
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