21 Laps Entertainment


21 Laps Entertainment is an American film and television production company run by director-producer Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the creators of Stranger Things, and exclusively distributes content through a partnership with Netflix.

History

In 1999, Shawn Levy, 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 Cheaper by the Dozen.
In 2003, Shawn Levy, after the success of his aforementioned feature films, launched his own production company with a first-look deal at 20th Century Fox Television. Its deal was planning on was to produce half-hour sitcoms and hour-long dramas
In 2005, Shawn Levy rebranded the studio to 21 Laps Entertainment and it signed a non-exclusive deal with 20th Century Fox to produce their films. The film division will be run by Tom McNulty, formerly employee from Happy Madison Productions, and it has a TV division run by J.J. Klein. The first two products were Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and Pepper Dennis.
In 2010, Shawn Levy and Marty Adelstein signed on to form a TV company called 21 Laps/Adelstein Productions, and it was signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television, and hired Becky Clements to serve as president.
In 2014, both Levy and Adelstein part ways, with the latter launching Tomorrow Studios as a joint venture with ITV Studios.
One of the company's most recent television projects, Stranger Things, premiered on Netflix in July 2016 and achieved critical acclaim, earning a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes 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 a fourth season has recently been announced.

Filmography

Films

Television