K&L Productions is a film and television company co-founded by Kay Cannon and Laverne McKinnon. Their mission is to tell underserved and underdog stories from both a comedic and dramatic lens. They began their collaboration on the Netflix series Girlboss, where Kay served as Creator/Showrunner and Laverne was an Executive Producer.
Kay is a three-time Emmy nominee and the recipient of three Writers Guild of America (WGA) awards and a Peabody for her work on NBC’s 30 Rock. She also wrote the Pitch Perfect franchise, which has grossed over $500 million worldwide. Kay made her feature film directorial debut with the hit comedy Blockers, starring Leslie Mann, John Cena and Ike Barinholtz. Her latest project Cinderella, a bold reimagining of the story we grew up with, recently launched on Amazon and became the number one streamed movie in America and number one soundtrack on iTunes. Kay wrote and directed the modern musical which featured an all-star cast including Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel, Billy Porter, Pierce Brosnan, James Corden, Minnie Driver and Nicholas Galitzine.
Laverne has over 20 years of successful programming experience in premium cable, broadcast and digital platforms including stints as Executive Vice-President of Original Programming & Development at EPIX and Senior Vice-President of Drama Development at CBS. Her work has encompassed comedy, drama, documentaries, web series, animation, music events, comedy specials, and children’s programs. Additionally, Laverne is a leadership and personal coach, certified grief counselor and adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Leadership for the Creative Enterprises program and Cal State Fullerton’s MFA program.
K&L Productions is passionate about and committed to diversity, inclusion and equality for all people. Kay is a board member for Steps of Faith Foundation, a nonprofit that reconnects amputees to their communities, families and workforces by relieving the financial burden of prosthetic care. As a first generation Japanese-American, Laverne strives to elevate the voices of fellow Asians. She is the former Co-President of the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), and continues to work with them as a mentor in their New Writers and Leadership Fellowship programs.
K&L Productions has sold numerous television and film projects to distributors and financiers including Amazon, CBS, ABC, NBC, TBS, FOX, Freeform, Paramount+ as well as Participant, River Road, Red Crown, among others.
