| Little Engine Productions | |
| Former Name: | Roundtable Entertainment (1998–2007) |
| Industry: | Motion pictures television |
| Founder: | Gina Matthews |
| Hq Location: | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Little Engine Productions (formerly Roundtable Entertainment) is a Los Angeles–based production company started by Gina Matthews in 1998.
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]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | What Women Want | Nancy Meyers | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Icon Productions and Wind Dancer Films |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |