Twin Pines launches sports studio in Kansas City
A 12-person studio in Kansas City wants to make films and television about professional sports teams for audiences in America's heartland.
Twin Pines Entertainment was founded by Clint Kisker, Sean Kisker and Jason Kander, as reported by Variety on 13 October 2026. Clint Kisker serves as chief executive. His twin brother Sean Kisker leads entertainment. Kander leads business development.
The base is Kansas City, Missouri, with offices in Los Angeles. The organisation is small by Hollywood standards. Twelve people. Two cities. One very specific brief.
That brief is sport. Twin Pines is developing movies and TV shows centred on professional sports teams, aimed at viewers in the middle of the country. The slate already includes several projects in partnership with pro teams. They span unscripted, meaning documentary and reality, alongside scripted drama and comedy with actors, plus podcasts.
The founders know both sides of the business. Clint Kisker is a former Legendary Entertainment executive, where he was named executive vice president of business development in 2015. Sean Kisker is a former HBO Max executive. Kander is a former Missouri Secretary of State. The Kisker brothers grew up in St. Louis.
Producer Todd Lieberman is advising the company on slate and packaging strategy, meaning which projects to back and how to attach talent and partners. On its website, Twin Pines says it was started by people from so-called flyover states who felt Hollywood had stopped telling their stories.
The name is a film reference. It comes from Twin Pines Mall in the 1985 film Back to the Future.
What makes this stand out is the address. Most new studios cluster in Los Angeles. This one planted its flag in Missouri. For fans, this means the next sports stories from this team will come with Kansas City on the credits.
