Alex Cooper has officially moved her representation to Creative Artists Agency, taking husband and business partner Matt Kaplan, their media company Unwell and parent outfit TRNDG with her.
The signing ends months of speculation that began when the “Call Her Daddy” host exited UTA in August. It also lands at a moment when the creator economy is being treated less as a talent niche and more as a full studio pipeline.
A creator brand with a slate
Unwell, which Cooper and Kaplan co-founded in 2023, has expanded well beyond Cooper’s flagship podcast. Upcoming and recent projects include:
- Netflix’s adaptation of hockey romance bestseller “Icebreaker”
- Feature adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s “Deep End”
- Hulu drama “You Deserve to Know”
- Hulu’s “Call Her Alex” documentary and Disney+’s “Hannah Montana: 20th Anniversary Special”
“Call Her Daddy” launched in 2018 and has become the No. 1 podcast for women ages 18 to 34, with a Golden Globe nomination in the inaugural Best Podcast category.
The $500 million backdrop
In August, Patrick Whitesell’s investment firm WTSL put a strategic investment into Unwell at a $500 million valuation. Cooper left UTA days later. The switch to CAA now gives the company a larger agency platform at the same time CAA and TPG are building a $250 million holding company focused on creator businesses.
For entertainment marketers and buyers, the takeaway is simple: creator-led IP is being packaged more like a traditional production company. A single talent signing now carries a film and television slate, ad-friendly podcast inventory and unscripted franchises with it.
Reputation is part of the deal
At the same time, the move arrives with baggage. A Vanity Fair investigation alleged a toxic work environment at Unwell, citing 40 sources, including 30 who were identified as current or former employees. The agency signing does not erase that history, but it does signal that CAA sees the underlying business as worth representing.
What media planners should do
For buyers, the deal changes how Cooper’s inventory could be sold. Instead of evaluating “Call Her Daddy” as standalone podcast inventory, brand teams should model it as one node in a bigger Unwell ecosystem: unscripted social formats, documentary content, and scripted adaptations that can create sponsorship and product integration windows across platforms.
Reach figures alone will not settle the risk question. A media plan that includes Cooper or Unwell should include a readiness check for advertiser sensitivity around workplace-culture allegations, especially if a campaign targets women 18-34.
Source: TheWrap
