Former HBO Max Executives and Industry Veterans Launch Twin Pines Entertainment, a Studio Focused on Professional Sports Films and Series for America's 'Overlooked' Heartland

Twin Pines Entertainment's founders see an opportunity to make films and TV shows centered on professional sports teams, aimed at millions of people in America's heartland, which they believe Hollywood often overlooks. Twin Pines is run by twin brothers Clint Kiesker (a legendary entertainment figure) and Shaun Kiesker (a […]

Founders Clint Kisker, Sean Kisker, and Jason Kander enlist producer Todd Lieberman as an advisor.

The founders of Twin Pines Entertainment see an opportunity to make movies and TV shows centered around professional sports teams aimed at millions in America's heartland — something they say is often rejected by Hollywood.

Twin Pines was founded by twin brothers Clint Kisker (a legendary entertainment scientist) and Sean Kisker (former HBO Max executive) along with former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander. They are each Midwestern natives — the Kiskers grew up in St. Louis — with backgrounds that include entertainment, sports and public leadership. RELATED STORIES 'Breaking Bad' star RJ Mitte dies at 34 Cooking TV show with food influencers gets spicy in the mix: 'It should get you involved'

Clint Kisker serves as CEO, Sean Kisker as President of Entertainment and Kander as President of Business Development. The 12-person firm is based in Kansas City, Missouri, with offices in Los Angeles. Popular in Variety

The trio started Twin Pines to produce projects rooted in "unconventional" narratives, often from the perspective of sports teams and their fans: people in the stands, families that carry a team through the generations, and cities that rise and fall with each season.

According to Clint Kisker, the company plans to produce programming with a mission to "rewrite the story of the heartland." The company's name is a reference to the Twin Pans mall in the 1985 classic "Back to the Future" - and also a reference to the Kisser twins.

Twin Pines has several unscripted, scripted and podcast projects currently in development with professional sports teams, but Clint Kisker isn't ready to reveal them yet.

"We are a storytelling company built to bring America's neglected middle to life," says Clint Kisker. "For a generation, the entertainment industry has either ignored or caricatured the heartland, undercovering one of the nation's largest audiences. We know firsthand how rich it is with creators, subcultures, and stories. And sports fandom is our front door. It's deep, it's passed down through generations, and it opens up to these stories, and it's not fully scripted."

Sure, Hollywood has long been reaching for Middle American sports stories, from "Field of Dreams" to "Friday Night Lights." Overall, there's an untapped demand for much more, argues Clint Sisker: "Our sense is that there's a whole segment of fans between the Hudson River and Los Angeles that don't show up in the media."

Meanwhile, some professional teams are already producing or partnering with entertainment content themselves, such as Hallmark Channel's "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story" from the Kansas City Chiefs. Chicago Cubs scripted rom-com series Nine Innings to Love. And Ryan Reynolds and RobMac's "Welcome to Wrexham" Clint Sisker says: "We see this as confirmation that we're going in the right general direction."

Todd Lieberman, a fellow Midwesterner and Oscar-nominated producer and founder of Hidden Pictures, serves as a consultant in shaping Twin Pines' slate and packaging strategy. Lieberman's credits include War Machine, The Maid, The Warrior, The Proposal, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder, and The Muppets.

"Every producer is looking for stories with a built-in audience and real stakes," says Lieberman. "Having grown up in Cleveland, I know how important home stories are, and how rarely Hollywood tells them. I've seen what they've been developing and I'm excited to do business with Sean, Clint and Jason."

Twin Pines is backed by Toronto-based private equity firm Boardwalk Capital. The companies did not disclose the amount of Boardwalk's investment.

"Boardwalk couldn't be more excited to partner with Clint, Sean, Jason and the impressive team they've assembled at Twin Pines Entertainment," Boardwalk Capital Managing Partner Jordan Gnat said in a statement. Twin Pines recognizes the significant value that intentional premium content can create for whatever it supports, and the company has created a winning playbook to do just that.

Clint Kisker has more than two decades of experience in sports, media and entertainment. He has held senior leadership roles at Legendary Entertainment as EVP of Business Development, and at Madison Wells Media, which he co-founded with Gigi Pritzker, serving as president overseeing the company's expansion across film, television, live theater, interactive media and digital content.

Sean Kisker co-founded HBO Max when it was launched under AT&T ownership, where he also served as chief strategy officer for the streamer. Prior to that he was chief strategy officer and president of Otter Media, where he oversaw AT&T's $1.2 billion sale of Crunchyroll to Sony and the $900 million sale of Hello Sunshine to Candle Media. He has held senior roles at WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. It has had Discovery, Lionsgate and Annapurna Pictures.

Kander is a best-selling author, former Missouri Secretary of State, and a US veteran of Afghanistan.

The company's executive ranks include Maude Standish, vice president of content and audience at Twin Pines; He previously worked as VP of programming at Fullscreen Media and as a trend forecaster at CAA. At the studio, he focuses on developing new voices and stories from top creators across all platforms.

Twin Pines was advised by Fortified Partners, Kirkland & Ellis, Heller Waldron & Pepper, and S.MET Link (founded by Phil Metz, former managing director of entertainment and music marketing at NASCAR). Boardwalk was recommended by Greenberg Traurig.