| Formerly | Roundtable Entertainment (1998–2007) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion pictures television |
| Founded | July 24, 1998 |
| Founder | Gina Matthews |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Key people |
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Little Engine Productions (formerly Roundtable Entertainment) is a Los Angeles–based production company started by Gina Matthews in 1998.
History
The origin of Little Engine Productions dates back to 1998 when Matthews, the former head of Tavel Entertaintment's literary and feature department, started Roundtable Entertainment. [1] In 2007, Matthews and co-founder Grant Scharbo rebranded Roundtable Entertainment as Little Engine Productions. [2]
The company's first feature film was 1998's Urban Legend, written by Silvio Horta. Other film producing credits include What Women Want, 13 Going on 30, and Isn’t It Romantic.
The company's first television series, Popular, premiered on The WB in 1999. The teen comedy-drama starred Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope and was co-created by Matthews and Ryan Murphy. The show was named one of the "26 Best Cult TV Shows Ever" by Entertainment Weekly. [3]
The team reunited with Horta in 2001 for SyFy's The Chronicle, and again in 2002 for UPN's Jake 2.0. Signing deals to produce TV shows for Viacom Productions in 2002, [4] 20th Century Fox Television in 2005 [5] and ITV Studios in 2016, [6] the company’s television credits during this period include The Gates, Missing, Rush, and Saints & Strangers.
Little Engine ventured into the holiday genre with Hallmark Channel's Holiday Road in 2023 [7] and the limited series Holidazed filmed in 2022. [8]
Filmography
Feature films
1990s
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Urban Legend | Jamie Blanks | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with TriStar Pictures, Phoenix Pictures and Original Film |
2000s
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | What Women Want | Nancy Meyers | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Icon Productions and Wind Dancer Films |
| Urban Legends: Final Cut | John Ottman | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures, Phoenix Pictures and Original Film | |
| 2004 | 13 Going on 30 | Gary Winick | co-production with Columbia Pictures, Roth/Arnold Productions and Revolution Studios |
2010s
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Isn't It Romantic | Todd Strauss-Schulson | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with New Line Cinema, Bron Creative, Netflix, Camp Sugar and Broken Road Productions |
Television movies/pilots
1990s
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Summer's End | Helen Shaver | Showtime | co-production with Temple Street Productions and Hallmark Entertainment |
| The Wishing Tree | Ivan Passer | co-production with Dufferin Gate Productions and Hallmark Entertainment |
2000s
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Fubar | N/A | FX | co-production with Viacom Productions |
| 2008 | The Oaks | Michael Cuesta | Fox | co-production with 20th Century Fox Television |
| Blue Blood | Brett Ratner | NBC |
2020s
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Holiday Road | Martin Wood | Hallmark Channel | co-production with Timeless Pictures |
Television series
1990s
| Years | Title | Creators | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2001 | Popular |
Ryan Murphy Gina Matthews |
The WB | co-production with Ryan Murphy Productions, The Shepherd/Robin Company and Touchstone Television |
2000s
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2002 | The Chronicle | Silvio Horta | Sci-Fi Channel | co-production with The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio, Stu Segall Productions, Silent H Productions and 20th Century Fox International Television |
| 2003–2004 | Jake 2.0 | UPN | co-production with David Greenwalt Productions, Silent H Productions and Viacom Productions | |
| 2004–2005 | The Mountain | David Barrett Gina Matthews Grant Scharbo |
The WB | uncredited; co-production with Shaun Cassidy Productions, Wonderland Sound and Vision and Warner Bros. Television |
2010s
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Gates | Richard Hatem Grant Scharbo |
ABC | co-production with Summerland Entertainment and Fox Television Studios |
| 2012 | Missing | Gregory Poirier | co-production with Upcountry Productions and ABC Studios | |
| 2014 | Rush | Jonathan Levine | USA Network | co-production with Fancy Films, Pine City Entertainment and Fox 21 |
| 2015 | Saints & Strangers | Seth Fisher | National Geographic Channel | miniseries; co-production with Sony Pictures Television |
References
- ^ Cox, Dan (July 24, 1998). "Matthews at her own table". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (September 12, 2007). "NBC gets 'Blood' pumping". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "26 Best Cult TV Shows Ever". Entertainment Weekly. March 14, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (December 3, 2002). "Feature duo turning on TV". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (August 10, 2005). "Fox knights Roundtable". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (June 8, 2016). "ITV Studios Inks First-Look Scripted TV Deal With Little Engine Productions". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Wang, K.L. Connie (November 23, 2023). "Nine Strangers Decide to Take to the Highways to Get Home in Hallmark Channel's 'Holiday Road'". Parade. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (October 23, 2023). "Hallmark Announces 42 New Christmas Movies Starting October 20". Heavy.com. Retrieved November 26, 2023.