Dualstar Entertainment Group, LLC is a privately held American

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

owned by twin sister actresses

Mary-Kate Olsen Mary-Kate Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, equestrian, and former actress. She began her acting career nine months after her birth, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Ashley Olsen ...

and

Ashley Olsen Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American businesswoman and former actress. She began her acting career at the age of nine months, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen in the television sitcom ...

, which produced films, television series, magazines, video games, and other popular media. Dualstar was based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and is now based in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

History

The company Dualstar Productions was originally started in 1993 by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, then-stars of '' Full House'', at the age of 6. They had a development deal at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, who had a television broadcast contract, and set up its own video and audio arm with a deal at

BMG Kidz Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

, the kids label of

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

. It then became a pioneer in the tween industry. The company operated eight such subsidiaries such as: Dualstar Productions, Dualstar Animation, Dualstar Records, Dualstar Video & DVD, Dualstar Interactive, Dualstar Publications, Dualstar Consumer Products and Dualstar Clothing. Dissatisfied by the BMG deal, the Olsens opted to move the Dualstar Video label to WarnerVision Entertainment in 1995. In 1999, it entered into a partnership with game publisher Acclaim Entertainment to launch its Dualstar Interactive line. Also that year, it launched Dualstar Animation and entered into a pact with DIC Entertainment to launch a Mary-Kate and Ashley cartoon. The cartoon was subsequently picked up by ABC in 2001 for Disney's One Saturday Morning block. In 2003, the group estimated that the sales are around $1.4 billion. The interactive unit subsequently filed a lawsuit against Acclaim Entertainment in 2004. Also that year upon their 18th birthday, the Olsens took control of the Dualstar studio. In 2006, Dualstar partnered with Dylan and Cole Sprouse, the twin siblings from

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and was also ...

'', to produce ''Code'' a magazine geared toward a young male demographic. In April 2015, Mary-Kate and Ashley reached a deal with Viacom-owned

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

to license the entire library.

Operations

On May 7, 2004, the company released '' New York Minute'', the Olsen twins' last and only theatrical film since 1995's '' It Takes Two''. The film did not do well at the box office, and suffered negative critical reception. Since then, Dualstar and the Olsens have neither produced nor starred in another film.

Productions

Feature films

* ''

To Grandmother's House We Go ''To Grandmother's House We Go'' is a 1992 made-for-television Christmas film directed by Jeff Franklin and starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The film's title comes from a part of one of the first lines of Lydia Maria Child's Thanksgiving so ...

'' (1992) * '' Double, Double, Toil and Trouble'' (1993) * '' How the West Was Fun'' (1994) * '' It Takes Two'' (1995) * '' Billboard Dad'' (1998) * '' Passport to Paris'' (1999) * '' Switching Goals'' (1999) * '' Our Lips Are Sealed'' (2000) * ''

Winning London ''Winning London'' is a 2001 direct-to-video comedy film directed by Craig Shapiro and starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Plot Chloe Lawrence (Mary-Kate Olsen) is a very driven teenager and leader of her high school's Model United Nations team ...

'' (2001) * '' Holiday in the Sun'' (2001) * '' Getting There'' (2002) * '' When in Rome'' (2002) * '' The Challenge'' (2003) * '' New York Minute'' (2004)

Musical video series

* '' The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley'' series * '' You're Invited to Mary-Kate & Ashley's'' series

Television series

* '' Two of a Kind'' (1998-1999) * '' So Little Time'' (2001-2002) * ''

Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action! ''Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!'' is an American animated children's television series featuring the voices and likeness of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. It is also a series of books that spun off, from the show. The show premiered on October 20, ...

'' (2001-2002)

Legal issue

A class action lawsuit against Dualstar alleges that the Entertainment Group failed to pay interns for menial tasks. The suit, brought forth by forty past and current interns, argues that the interns should have been paid minimum wage because they were doing similar jobs as their paid colleagues, without receiving academic or vocational credit. Dualstar responded, "As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws. The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff's claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety." The lawsuit was settled out of court in March 2017 for $140,000.

References

{{Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1993 Companies based in New York City Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen