Truth Entertainment Presents
Smoke & Soul
A Documentary Series
Business & Production Plan  ·  2026
The Premise
A premium, cinematic documentary series exploring the history, culture, craftsmanship, and business of the cigar industry: from the tobacco fields of the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras to the private lounges and boardrooms where the modern premium cigar renaissance is being written.
The series pairs the visual language of high-end lifestyle documentaries with rigorous journalism.
Smoke & Soul02 / 15

Why Now

Section 01
The Opportunity
i
The Audience

A growing, high-income audience with disposable income and an appetite for premium lifestyle content.

ii
The Trend

A well-documented luxury positioning trend, cigars as status and gifting goods, that mirrors the appeal of docuseries like Chef's Table and Somm.

iii
The White Space

An underserved content category: no major streaming platform currently has a flagship cigar-culture documentary series.

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The Market

Section 02
Scale & Growth
The global cigar market has grown from roughly $14.5 billion in 2021 to an estimated $59 to $70 billion in 2026, with premium handmade cigars, the segment Smoke & Soul focuses on, outpacing mass-market growth.
01
~$7.0B
2026 Global Premium Cigar Market
02
6.4–6.7%
Premium Segment CAGR
03
~55%
US Share of Global Cigar Demand
04
2.7×
Premium Import Growth, 1991 to 2011
05
More than 2×
US Cigar Unit Volume, 2000 to 2019
06
Nearly 3×
Global Category Value, Last Decade
Figures shown as ranges; sources vary by methodology.
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A Changing Smoker

Section 03
The Demographic Shift
The face of the premium cigar consumer has changed dramatically over the past decade and a half, a storyline the series is uniquely positioned to document on camera.
Marker~15 Years AgoToday
Female share of smokers~7.7% (2000)~17 to 20%, premium female buyers among the fastest-growing segment
Age of new buyersCore buyer 45+Nearly 3 in 10 premium buyers are age 25 to 35, up from ~16% in 2019
Discovery channelTobacconist, print, word of mouthSocial media, cigar influencers, subscription boxes, e-commerce
Cultural framing"Old man's indulgence," boardroom and golf-courseBoutique luxury lifestyle choice, self-care ritual, social experience
Purchase channelOverwhelmingly brick-and-mortarOnline sales up 38 to 44%; subscriptions ~12% of digital transactions
The fastest growth is younger buyers and women: the engine of Episode 5, The Lounge
Smoke & Soul05 / 15

The Series

Section 04
Format & Arc
A 6-episode limited series, 45 minutes per episode.
01
Roots
The Cuban origin story, the 1959 exodus, and the birth of the Dominican and Nicaraguan trade, seed and soil carried with it.
02
The Family Business
Multigenerational dynasties: succession, rivalry, and legacy.
03
The Hands
Torcedores and the art of rolling: the wrapper leaf, apprenticeship, tradition, craftsmanship.
04
The New Titans
Boutique founders and modern operators reshaping the premium segment.
05
The Lounge
Cigar culture as social ritual: private clubs, hospitality, community, and who is in the room now.
06
The Next Chapter
Regulation, global expansion, and the future of the leaf.
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The Story

Section 05
History & Culture

From Cuba to the Diaspora

The industry's DNA traces to 19th-century Cuba, where families like Fuente, Padrón, and Menendez built the archetype of the family-run tobacco house. The 1959 revolution and the US embargo scattered that expertise across the Caribbean: the single most important turning point, and the natural cold open.

The Rise of the DR, Nicaragua, and Honduras

Displaced Cuban families rebuilt in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua, which has since overtaken other origins as the leading exporter of handmade premium cigars.

Cigar Culture as Social Ritual

Cigars have always carried cultural weight: ceremony, status, a vehicle for connection. The series follows that ritual from private men's clubs to modern, design-forward lounges built for a broader clientele.

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The Access

The Legacy Families
The Fuente FamilyFive generations, Dominican Republic, creators of the legendary Opus X.
J.C. Newman Cigar Co.America's oldest family-owned maker, Tampa, four generations since 1895.
The Padrón FamilyCuban-exile origin, Nicaragua; the Padrón 1926 and Anniversary lines.
The Oliva FamilyNicaraguan-based, family-founded and Belgian-owned since 2016, among the fastest-growing houses of the last two decades.
The Plasencia FamilyFive generations; among the largest tobacco growers in the world.
The García FamilyMy Father Cigars, José "Pepin" García and sons, decorated blenders.
General Cigar / STGThe largest consolidated player: Macanudo, Partagas, Cohiba (non-Cuban).
Rare, on-cameraSuccession, rivalry, and the tension between scale and craft.
Smoke & Soul08 / 15

The Titans & the Next Generation

Section 06
Growers & Heirs
The Titans of Tobacco
Meerapfel
Generations trading premium wrapper leaf behind many acclaimed blends.
Henke Kelner
The Dutch-Dominican engineer who built Davidoff's Dominican operation.
Paul Garmirian
A decorated blender who pioneered the ultra-premium positioning of the 1990s.
La Aurora
Founded 1903, the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic.
Jochy Blanco
La Aurora-trained master, the bridge to an entrepreneurial next wave.
The Next Generation
Drew Newman
Fourth generation of J.C. Newman, navigating modern regulation and tariffs.
Hirochi Robaina
Grandson of Alejandro Robaina, carrying a storied Cuban name into a new era.
Christian Eiroa
Son of Camacho's founder, building his own seed-to-shelf house in Honduras.
Not just what was built, but what it takes to carry a family name into a market that looks nothing like the one their grandfathers entered.
Smoke & Soul09 / 15

Audience & Distribution

Section 07
Reach & Path
Primary Audience
i

Affluent, lifestyle-documentary viewers: the Chef's Table, Somm, and Drive to Survive audience.

ii

Cigar and spirits enthusiasts, ages 28 to 65, skewing male with meaningful female crossover.

iii

A secondary audience of business and entrepreneurship viewers drawn to the family-dynasty storylines.

Distribution Path
01

Festival premiere (Tribeca, SXSW documentary tracks) to build critical credibility.

02

Premium streaming license: Netflix, Max, Hulu, or a documentary-focused platform.

03

Brand partnership and co-marketing with tobacco houses, spirits brands, and lounge operators for launch amplification.

04

Companion digital content: short-form cuts to reach the younger demographic.

Smoke & Soul10 / 15

Brand Integration

Section 08
The Adjacent Universe
The premium cigar smoker already lives among adjacent luxury: the pour, the watch, the drive. A target universe of the houses that fund work like this, chosen for audience overlap. Not partners we have signed.
Spirits & Fine Drinks
the after-dinner ritual
Hennessy · Macallan · Woodford Reserve · Flor de Caña
Hospitality & Travel
where cigar culture lives
Casa de Campo · Belmond · St. Regis · Four Seasons
Mobility
craft, heritage, indulgence
Aston Martin · Rolls-Royce · NetJets · Riva
Timepieces
the collector's temperament
Rolex · Patek Philippe · Audemars Piguet
Tailoring & Leather
the lounge's dress code
Brioni · Tom Ford · Zegna · Berluti
Coffee & Espresso
the other daily ritual
illy · Lavazza · Nespresso
How it pays, on top of the license
01Brand-financed content
02Narrative integration
03Experiential & presenting sponsorship
04Co-marketing reach
The upside case
80%+  ·  ~$514M
The "Drive to Survive" effect: share of Formula 1 sponsors signed after the series launched, and F1's 2024 sponsorship revenue. Shown as analogy, not a forecast.
Source: GlobalData
Illustrative of category fit. No brand shown is an affiliated or committed partner.
Smoke & Soul11 / 15

Clear-Eyed

Section 09
Risk Factors
The terrain is real, and we see it. Candor is part of the diligence.
01Family Access

Several target families are private; relationship-building takes time and may require a phased commitment strategy.

02Regulatory Environment

FDA tobacco advertising restrictions limit some marketing and brand-integration paths and require careful legal review.

03Distribution

Tobacco-adjacent content faces heightened standards review; a documentary-focused platform may be the realistic first target.

04Market Data Variability

Third-party estimates vary widely by methodology; the series presents ranges, not single-point figures, on screen.

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Executive Producers

Behind the Series
Joe Newcomb
Joe Newcomb
Executive Producer

Founder of Truth Entertainment, whose first production, Dallas Buyers Club, earned six Academy Award nominations and won three Oscars. A former professional baseball player, he is today Chairman and CEO of Truth Industries, spanning commodities, investment, and media.

Cosimo Blodgett
Cosimo Blodgett
Executive Producer

Partner and President of Truth Entertainment, he takes films from concept to distribution, working with writers, directors, and financiers to shape intellectual property. His background spans technology, real estate, and sales, and he helps lead the Round Top Film Festival.

Todd Allen
Todd Allen
Executive Producer

A certified tobacconist and executive hospitality leader with over thirty five years in private club management, restaurants and cigar lounges. A hospitality educator who builds and trains service teams, and a founding board member of the Grace Foundation.

Richard Payton
Richard Payton
Executive Producer

The first Certified Cigar Sommelier Tobacconist in the world, certified by Tobacconist University and earned on the floor of BLEND Bar with Davidoff Cigars, named Best Cigar Lounge of 2017 by Cigar Journal. He works in allocated releases, boutique blends, and the pairings that carry them.

Executive Producers
David Levine • Spenser Levine
Smoke & Soul13 / 15

The Vision

Smoke & Soul sits at the intersection of a growing global market, a compelling and underexplored cultural history, and a genuinely surprising demographic story: the quiet reinvention of who smokes a premium cigar today. Anchored by rare access to the families who built the industry, the titans who elevated it, and the next generation carrying it forward, the series is positioned to become the definitive documentary treatment of premium cigar culture.
Smoke & SoulTruth Entertainment Presents

The Plan

Section 10
Production & Budget

The Business & Production Plan and Budget sits behind this page: how the series is physically made, what each line of the season costs, and the assumptions every figure rests on.

Thirty five pages. Confidential, and shared by invitation.

Smoke & Soul15 / 15
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