21 Laps, Inc.,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

21 Laps Entertainment, is an American film and television

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

founded and run by filmmaker

Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (; born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian and American filmmaker and actor. He is the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. His work has spanned numerous genres, and his films as a director have grossed a collective $3.5 billion worldwid ...

. The company is best known as the producers of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

'', and exclusively distributes content through a partnership with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. It has also produced films like ''

Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bes ...

'', ''

The Spectacular Now ''The Spectacular Now'' is a 2013 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Tharp. It stars Mile ...

'', ''

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathes ...

'', '' Arrival'', and the '' Night at the Museum'' franchise, as well as Levy's collaborations with actor and producer

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...

, which include '' Free Guy'', '' The Adam Project'' and ''

Deadpool & Wolverine ''Deadpool & Wolverine'' is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed ...

''. The companies' name originates from the number of laps Levy's eldest daughter ran in a jogathon when she was 5 years old. In addition to the logo, the icon is supposed to represent a race track.

History

In 1999,

, who after his start on television incorporated and founded the company as Wunjo, Inc. It was in-name only from the beginning until 2005. Levy made his breakout role as a film director on '' Big Fat Liar'', '' Just Married'', and ''

''. In 2003, Levy, after the success of his aforementioned feature films, launched his own production company with a first-look deal at

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

. The deal was to produce half-hour sitcoms and hour-long dramas. In 2005, Levy rebranded the studio to 21 Laps Entertainment and it signed a non-exclusive deal with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

to produce their films. The film division would be run by Tom McNulty, formerly employee from Happy Madison Productions, and its television division by J.J. Klein. The first two products were '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' and '' Pepper Dennis''. In 2010, Levy and Marty Adelstein signed on to form a television company called 21 Laps/Adelstein Productions, and they signed a deal with

and hired Becky Clements to serve as president. In 2014, both Levy and Adelstein parted ways, with the latter launching Tomorrow Studios as a joint venture with

ITV Studios ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

. In July 2016, one of the company's television projects, ''

'', premiered on

and achieved critical acclaim, earning a 95% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

with 55 out of 58 reviews being positive. The show's first season was also one of Netflix's most watched series, averaging 14.07 million adults 18–49 in its first 35 days. Along with producing the series, Levy directed two of the premiere season's episodes. The third season premiered on July 4, 2019 and the fourth season premiered in two parts on May 27, 2022 and July 1, 2022. It was renewed for a fifth and final season. In 2020, the company signed a first look deal with Netflix.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

{{Authority control Film studios in New York (state) Television production companies of the United States 21 Laps Entertainment films