Secret Hideout
Secret Hideout is an American film and television production company founded in 2014 by writer, producer, and director Alex Kurtzman.[1] The company specializes in genre storytelling, particularly science fiction, and has produced over 250 episodes of television, including all major recent installments of the Star Trek franchise such as Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.[2] Operating primarily through multi-year overall deals with CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout has expanded into feature films, with credits including The Mummy (2017) and Rob Peace (2024), alongside upcoming projects like Star Trek: Section 31 and Now You See Me 3.[2][1] Its productions have earned four Emmy Awards, 14 Saturn Awards, and a Peabody Award, recognizing achievements in series like The Man Who Fell to Earth and Clarice.[2]History
Founding and Incorporation
Secret Hideout, Inc. was incorporated as a California stock corporation on August 21, 2014, with its principal place of business in Santa Monica, California.[3][4] The company was established by Alex Kurtzman, a screenwriter, producer, and director known for prior collaborations on films such as Mission: Impossible II and Transformers.[1] Kurtzman's formation of Secret Hideout followed his departure from K/O Paper Products, the production entity he co-founded with Roberto Orci, amid a shift toward independent ventures after high-profile franchise work. Less than two weeks after incorporation, on September 2, 2014, Secret Hideout secured a three-year production agreement with Universal Pictures, signaling its initial focus on feature films and providing development financing for scripted projects.[1] This deal positioned the nascent company to produce content for theatrical release, with Kurtzman emphasizing storytelling rooted in genre elements like action and science fiction, genres central to his career. The agreement underscored Secret Hideout's early operational structure as a boutique production outfit, leveraging Kurtzman's industry relationships rather than large-scale infrastructure.[1] Although the company's official website later referenced a 2012 founding, contemporaneous reporting and state incorporation records confirm 2014 as the formal establishment year, likely distinguishing informal pre-incorporation planning from legal entity formation.[2][1] Secret Hideout operated initially without a dedicated television division, which emerged later in 2016 alongside expanded deals with CBS Studios.[5]Early Film Ventures
Following its incorporation in August 2014, Secret Hideout secured a three-year first-look production agreement with Universal Pictures on September 2, 2014, enabling the company to develop and produce feature films for the studio.[1][6] This deal marked the company's initial foray into theatrical film production, building on founder Alex Kurtzman's prior experience directing episodes of television and co-writing blockbuster scripts.[7] The agreement facilitated Secret Hideout's first feature film, The Mummy (2017), a reboot of Universal's classic monster franchise starring Tom Cruise and directed by Kurtzman in his live-action directorial debut for the company.[8][9] Produced in association with Perfect World Pictures, Conspiracy Factory, and Sean Daniel Company, the film aimed to launch Universal's shared "Dark Universe" of interconnected monster properties, with principal photography spanning locations in England, Morocco, and Namibia from 2016 onward.[8] Budgeted between $125 million and $195 million excluding marketing costs, The Mummy emphasized action-oriented spectacle and computer-generated effects to revive the property for modern audiences.[10] Despite generating $409.2 million in worldwide box office receipts, the film underperformed relative to expectations, earning a 15% approval rating from critics who cited narrative incoherence and overreliance on visual effects over character development.[10] This outcome contributed to the swift abandonment of the Dark Universe initiative, with planned sequels and spin-offs like Bride of Frankenstein shelved by Universal in late 2017. Secret Hideout's film slate remained limited during this period, with no additional theatrical releases under the Universal pact before its expiration around 2017, prompting a strategic pivot toward television production where the company found greater success.[6]Transition to Television Dominance
Secret Hideout's early emphasis on feature films, secured through a three-year production agreement with Universal Pictures announced on September 2, 2014, yielded its debut project The Mummy, released on June 9, 2017, under the studio's Dark Universe initiative.[1] This deal positioned the company for theatrical ventures, with executives like Jeb Brody and Bobby Cohen recruited to bolster film development. However, parallel opportunities in television emerged, reflecting Kurtzman's prior experience in episodic formats from partnerships like K/O Paper Products. The pivotal shift occurred on September 16, 2016, when Secret Hideout signed an overall deal with CBS Television Studios, granting the studio first-look rights to the company's TV projects and marking its formal entry into series production.[11] This agreement, led by Heather Kadin as head of television, enabled the launch of Star Trek: Discovery on September 24, 2017, co-produced with CBS, which revived live-action Star Trek programming after the 2005 cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise. Additional early series included Salvation (premiered July 12, 2017, on CBS) and Instinct (premiered March 18, 2018, on CBS), diversifying into sci-fi thriller and procedural genres. Subsequent expansions solidified television as the company's core strength, with Secret Hideout overseeing the Star Trek franchise across Paramount+, encompassing Star Trek: Picard (premiered January 23, 2019), Star Trek: Lower Decks (premiered August 6, 2020), Star Trek: Prodigy (premiered October 28, 2021), and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (premiered May 5, 2022). Non-franchise outputs like Clarice (premiered February 1, 2021, on CBS) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (premiered April 24, 2022, on Showtime) further demonstrated versatility. A five-year overall deal renewal with CBS Studios in June 2018, followed by a nine-figure extension through 2026 announced in August 2021, institutionalized this focus, prioritizing serialized content over sporadic films.[12][5] By 2025, Secret Hideout had produced over 250 television episodes, establishing dominance in high-volume, franchise-driven programming while maintaining limited film involvement, such as executive producing Rob Peace (released August 16, 2024). This transition leveraged streaming platforms' demand for expansive universes, with the Star Trek portfolio alone generating multiple interconnected series and spin-offs.[2]Leadership and Operations
Alex Kurtzman as Founder and Leader
Alex Kurtzman founded Secret Hideout in 2014, establishing it as a production company focused on film and television content, particularly in science fiction and genre storytelling.[13] The company was incorporated on August 21, 2014, and is owned by Kurtzman, who has leveraged his prior experience as co-founder of K/O Paper Products to build Secret Hideout into a prolific entity.[14] As the principal leader, Kurtzman oversees strategic direction and serves as executive producer on flagship projects, most notably architecting the expansion of the Star Trek franchise across multiple Paramount+ series, including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.[15] In July 2021, he signed a multi-year overall deal with CBS Studios, extending through at least 2026, which maintains his central role in franchise oversight and broadens Secret Hideout's development slate beyond Trek properties.[15] This agreement has enabled the production of over 250 television episodes under his leadership, encompassing series like The Man Who Fell to Earth and Clarice.[2] Kurtzman's leadership emphasizes collaborative structures, with key appointments such as Aaron Baiers as President of Television in December 2021, succeeding Heather Kadin, and Morgan Earnest as President of Film to handle operational aspects while Kurtzman focuses on creative vision and high-level partnerships.[16][2] Under his guidance, Secret Hideout has secured deals with major studios, including a three-year agreement with Universal, and garnered recognition through 26 Emmy nominations (four wins), 26 Saturn Award nominations (14 wins), and a Peabody Award.[2]Key Executives and Organizational Structure
Secret Hideout operates with a streamlined organizational structure centered on content creation for television and film, led by division-specific presidents reporting to founder Alex Kurtzman. The company emphasizes collaborative development and production teams tailored to major franchises like the Star Trek universe, under multi-year agreements with partners such as CBS Studios.[2] Key executives include Aaron Baiers, who serves as President of Television, overseeing TV slate expansion and operations following his promotion on December 13, 2021, succeeding Heather Kadin.[16][2] Morgan Earnest holds the role of President of Film, managing film development, production finance, and strategic investments.[2][17]| Position | Executive |
|---|---|
| President of Television | Aaron Baiers |
| President of Film | Morgan Earnest |
Productions
Feature Films
Secret Hideout's foray into feature films began in 2016 with a three-year overall production agreement with Universal Pictures, aimed at developing and producing theatrical releases. This deal facilitated the company's first major motion picture, The Mummy (2017), directed by founder Alex Kurtzman, which starred Tom Cruise as Nick Morton, an American soldier who awakens an ancient Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella) via a cursed artifact, leading to supernatural chaos in modern London. Co-produced with entities including the Sean Daniel Company and Conspiracy Factory, the film grossed $409 million worldwide against a $125–195 million budget but failed to ignite Universal's planned Dark Universe shared monster franchise due to critical backlash over its disjointed narrative and tonal inconsistencies. Following the Universal pact's expiration without further releases, Secret Hideout shifted toward independent and streaming projects. In 2024, the company produced Rob Peace, a biographical drama written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, based on the life of Robert Peace, a Yale-educated scientist from Newark who balanced academic promise with loyalty to his incarcerated father amid economic pressures and crime. Starring Jay Will as Peace, alongside Ejiofor, Mary J. Blige, and Camila Cabello, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024, and was released on Netflix on November 20, 2024, emphasizing themes of systemic inequality and personal choice through Peace's real trajectory from gifted student to involvement in drug trade, culminating in his 2011 murder at age 30.[18][19] Secret Hideout expanded into franchise extensions with Star Trek: Section 31 (2025), a Paramount+ original film produced in association with CBS Studios and Roddenberry Entertainment. Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and executive produced by Kurtzman, it centers on Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), a mirror-universe tyrant integrated into the Prime Timeline, who joins the covert Starfleet black-ops organization Section 31 to confront a galaxy-threatening conspiracy in the 24th century. Filming occurred in Toronto from January to March 2024, with a release on January 24, 2025; the project drew from Georgiou's arc in Star Trek: Discovery, focusing on her moral ambiguities and redemptive struggles amid espionage and temporal threats.[20][21] The company also contributed to Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025), the third installment in the illusionist-heist series, distributed by Lionsgate. Reuniting original cast members Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco as the Four Horsemen, alongside newcomers, the film—directed by Louis Leterrier—features elaborate magic tricks targeting criminal networks, with production overseen by Secret Hideout amid a $75–100 million budget; it is slated for theatrical release on November 14, 2025, continuing the franchise's blend of sleight-of-hand spectacle and Robin Hood vigilantism.[22]| Title | Release Year | Director | Key Details and Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Mummy | 2017 | Alex Kurtzman | Universal theatrical; $409M gross; launched/ended Dark Universe attempt. |
| Rob Peace | 2024 | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Netflix streaming post-Sundance; true-story drama on inequality and fate.[18] |
| Star Trek: Section 31 | 2025 | Olatunde Osunsanmi | Paramount+ exclusive; Star Trek spin-off with Michelle Yeoh.[21] |
| Now You See Me: Now You Don't | 2025 | Louis Leterrier | Lionsgate theatrical; heist sequel with returning ensemble.[22] |