Shawn Levy and 21 Laps Sign Disney TV Deal, Building on Disney Channel Roots
The multiyear agreement with 20th Television covers series development and production across Disney Entertainment’s platforms and brands, extending a relationship that began on Disney Channel.
The short answer: The multiyear agreement with 20th Television covers series development and production across Disney Entertainment’s platforms and brands, extending a relationship that began on Disney Channel.
Shawn Levy’s Disney career has stretched from The Famous Jett Jackson to Deadpool & Wolverine. His next television chapter brings those Disney Channel roots back into focus: Levy and his production company, 21 Laps Entertainment, have signed a multiyear overall deal with Disney’s 20th Television to develop and produce series.
The agreement covers Disney Entertainment’s global portfolio of platforms and brands. Its production partner, 20th Television, is part of Disney Television Studios—not a streaming service. The pact sets out a framework for making series across that portfolio, rather than a lineup for a single platform.
Disney announced the agreement on September 28, 2026. Variety reports that Levy and 21 Laps will begin developing and producing projects at Disney in October 2027.
A connection that began on Disney Channel
Levy directed episodes of Disney Channel’s The Famous Jett Jackson and also directed Jett Jackson: The Movie, which premiered on the channel on June 8, 2001. In discussing the new agreement, he pointed back to those early television years.
Years before I directed movies, I started my career directing and producing television episodes for Disney Channel, and I’ve always felt a kindred spirit in Disney and their storytelling ethos. Shawn Levy, in Disney’s announcement of the agreement
His film work has since connected him with other parts of Disney: he directed 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy and directed and co-wrote Marvel Studios’ 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine. The television pact adds another strand to that relationship, with 21 Laps developing series alongside 20th Television.
An established television business
For 21 Laps, television is already a substantial part of the story. The company first partnered with Netflix on Stranger Things, which premiered in 2016, before entering a multiyear television agreement with the streamer in 2017. Levy’s involvement extended beyond the company’s production credit: Variety reports that he executive produced all five seasons and directed several episodes.
The company’s television work also includes a different kind of series: Last Man Standing. Levy and 21 Laps produced the Tim Allen comedy, which aired for six seasons on ABC.
The move to Disney also leaves a continuing connection with Netflix. In a statement published by Variety, Levy said he looked forward to continuing their collaboration on the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things universe.