Rock Paper Cannon looks to build a lasting sitcom industry in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City has established itself as a destination for major film and television productions. Now, one local entertainment company is working to take the next step: building a sustainable television industry that calls Oklahoma home. 

Rock Paper Cannon, founded by entertainment industry veteran Rachel Cannon, is an independent television studio headquartered in Oklahoma City, focused on establishing Oklahoma as a hub for multi-camera, live-audience sitcom production. The company's approach centers on developing, financing and producing original television in Oklahoma, creating recurring opportunities for local workers, businesses and investors. 

"To me, the difference is permanence," Cannon said of the distinction between a production destination and a production hub. 

"A production destination is a place where projects come to film. That activity is incredibly valuable, but often temporary. A production hub is a place where the companies, crews, infrastructure, talent and capital all begin to live and grow together." 

Building on Oklahoma City's growing film industry 

Since 2023, productions supported by the Oklahoma City Film Incentive Program have generated more than $91.3 million in direct local spending and $329.1 million in total economic impact. Statewide, incentivized film and television productions have spent more than $620 million in Oklahoma over the past decade. 

Cannon has played a role in that growth. As founder and CEO of Prairie Surf Studios, she helped advance Oklahoma's production industry by working with state legislative leaders on competitive incentives and recruiting major productions, including Tulsa King and Twisters, to Oklahoma City. 

Through Rock Paper Cannon, she is turning her attention toward creating an entertainment trade cluster around exportable intellectual property — leveraging its network of Hollywood writers, producers, directors and actors with Oklahoma's skilled crews, local vendors, production infrastructure and private capital to develop, produce and commercialize original live-audience sitcoms. 

"Oklahoma City has already proven it can attract major productions," Cannon said. "The next opportunity is to build businesses here that create and produce content year after year, so the jobs, spending and expertise become recurring rather than transient."

Why sitcoms offer a sustainable production model 

Rock Paper Cannon's focus on multi-camera sitcoms is rooted in the format's potential to generate repeatable production activity and long-term intellectual property value. 

Unlike feature films, which typically complete production within a defined period, successful sitcoms can return for multiple seasons, creating consistent opportunities for production crews, equipment providers and local businesses. 

"A successful multi-camera sitcom returns season after season, hiring many of the same crew members, vendors and production systems," Cannon said. "That consistency creates something the Oklahoma entertainment industry needs: predictable, recurring work." 

Oklahoma's cost efficiency, production incentives and growing workforce provide a foundation for the model. The state has also established the Bringing Sitcoms Home from Hollywood Pilot Program Act to support qualifying live-audience episodic television productions. 

The live-audience component adds another opportunity. Sitcom tapings could attract visitors to Oklahoma City, generating additional activity for the tourism and hospitality industries while giving residents a chance to experience television production firsthand. 

"The playful dance between the actors and the audience has always been my favorite part of show night," Cannon said. 

Connecting Oklahoma capital to the entertainment industry 

Beyond production jobs and tourism, Rock Paper Cannon is creating opportunities for  Oklahoma's business community to participate directly in the entertainment industry through private investment in a slate of original sitcom productions. 

"I want Rock Paper Cannon to help prove that original television can be developed, financed and produced here at scale — and that Oklahomans can financially participate in the profits of our intellectual property, rather than simply providing locations and services for productions created somewhere else," Cannon said. 

The strategy is part of a larger effort to establish Oklahoma-based production companies, talent and infrastructure capable of creating entertainment for audiences nationwide. 

Building a future for Oklahoma's creative workforce 

For Cannon, the long-term goal extends beyond Rock Paper Cannon. She envisions a television industry where experienced crews can build careers, local vendors can expand and creative professionals can pursue opportunities without leaving Oklahoma. 

"For too long, talented Oklahomans have left for markets that invested in the systems, infrastructure and career pathways that allowed our creative work to become a sustainable profession," Cannon said. "I want to change that — let's stop exporting our talent and begin creating real futures for creative professionals in Oklahoma City." 

Over the next five to 10 years, Cannon hopes to see a growing network of production companies, soundstages and creative talent establishing Oklahoma as a permanent home for live television production. 

"Ultimately, success would mean Rock Paper Cannon is not the exception," Cannon said. "It would mean we helped build a market where other companies would anchor their businesses alongside us, where Oklahoma capital participates in the growth of the industry, and where television becomes a meaningful export for our state."