Little Engine Productions

Little Engine Productions
FormerlyRoundtable Entertainment (1998–2007)
IndustryMotion pictures
television
FoundedJuly 24, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-07-24)
FounderGina Matthews
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, United States
Key people

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

  1. ^ Cox, Dan (July 24, 1998). "Matthews at her own table". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Adalian, Josef (September 12, 2007). "NBC gets 'Blood' pumping". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "26 Best Cult TV Shows Ever". Entertainment Weekly. March 14, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Adalian, Josef (December 3, 2002). "Feature duo turning on TV". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Adalian, Josef (August 10, 2005). "Fox knights Roundtable". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  6. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (June 8, 2016). "ITV Studios Inks First-Look Scripted TV Deal With Little Engine Productions". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (October 23, 2023). "Hallmark Announces 42 New Christmas Movies Starting October 20". Heavy.com. Retrieved November 26, 2023.