The Mission Entertainment is a management/production company founded by Emmy nominated producer Andrew C. Coles. TME collaborates with artists and creators with unique voices. Artists who have a conscious, informed and aware view of the world that’s expressed through art and entertainment. Artists who know the power and importance of art - and seek to tap the common well of experience to tell something true.
We focus on being an advocate for those who by virtue of their “otherness” - whether race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic or geographic background - have been counted out of the ranks of what the entertainment industry considers viable, marketable or appealing. By working to shift the framework of expectation and assumption, we believe that we can not only find innovative ways of connecting with audiences around the world but also create possibilities for the continued success of diverse talent in the future. We believe that the only way to change the product that is put out, and ultimately the way that we as human beings relate to each other, is to change those who are creating it. This is our goal and our primary objective.
Our diverse experience and background has led to an expansive portfolio of interests – through a variety of roles, we help to create and produce stories across a wide range of media – from television shows, feature and short films, documentaries, audio stories and podcasts and live events. Our clients have worked with companies such as Apple, Disney, Universal, Searchlight, Amazon, Netflix, HBO, FX, and BET among others.
Our mission is to make art more accessible and in doing so change the way in which people around the world relate to each other. We are focused on stories that showcase our shared humanity and storytellers who come from historically undervalued and overlooked communities.
We believe that a key way of doing this is to support artists with unique and distinct voices, artists who have thoughtful diversity in experience, thought and background. First and foremost, we look to support art that fulfill the obligation to the audience to emotionally engage while serving as a reflection of the world around us - not just who we are, but who we could be.
We understand that story, and the connective tissue of the human experience, is the foundation of all content. From creation myths to the ancient Greeks sitting in amphitheaters watching men in masks to modern audiences sitting in a multiplex, storytelling has been a central and consistent facet of the way in which we as human beings connect with each other and the world around us.
By working to foster and create stories that emphasize and highlight our complex and shared humanity, we hope to demonstrate and illustrate one of our fundamental operating principles, “People are people.” By this we mean that as human beings, regardless of our background, religion, race or social standing, have a certain set of basic wants, needs and desires – to be loved, to be valued, to be accepted. These are the ties that bind us, and they are fundamentally stronger than those things that divide us. It is our belief that by highlighting these similarities, the universal humanity we all possess and the dignity to which we are all entitled, we can show that there is more we have in common than separates us.
“The Mission is ‘community in action’ in the best way. In a collective sense, it is a model for diverse artists and executives combining resources, to create generation-defining work that may not otherwise exist. In terms of individual advancement, this community mindset has launched and amplified many careers, including clients of mine, across film and television. And these dual effects – collective and individual – reinforce each other. The spirit of The Mission is bold, confident, inclusive, risk-taking, and forward-thinking, with vibrant, truthful work as a guiding principle for everything it produces and supports. The Mission is good.”
Andrew C. Coles is an Emmy-nominated producer, manager, curator, artist + DJ - he currently serves as the Founder & CEO of The Mission Entertainment. He graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in African-American Studies + Film Theory.
In 2013, Andrew created The Mission Entertainment – a production + management company whose philosophical foundation lies in serving as an advocate for storytellers from historically under-represented communities. With a childhood dream of becoming a civil rights criminal defense attorney, Andrew has married his passions for storytelling + social justice advocacy by working in the arts – helping to create images that are truly representative of the world we live in. He supports storytellers who craft intentionally intersectional stories that bridge cultures and communities and give voice to those who have been omitted from traditional narratives.
On the production side, Andrew served as Producer of HBO’s feature documentary, Being Mary Tyler Moore, which was nominated for Outstanding Documentary at the 2023 Emmy Awards. Additionally, he produced Queen & Slim, Melina Matsoukas’ debut feature film, as well as the BET series Twenties. He is currently developing a podcast, It Only Takes One, about the devastating lack of Black and mixed-race donors in the National Bone Marrow Registry. IOTO is inspired by his cancer battle when he was 13 and the life-saving transplant he received from an unrelated donor.
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