Starz Adding Unscripted Programming to Larger Portfolio of STARZ Series with Four Original Docuseries
November 10 2017 - 1:02PM
Business Wire
Docuseries Examine the Criminal Justice
System, A Winning Youth Football Program, Fashion Designers and the
Legacy of Hip-Hop Music
Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht announced today the
network is adding unscripted programming to its larger portfolio of
STARZ Originals by greenlighting four new docuseries that explore
the criminal justice system, a youth sports program, the world of
fashion and the legacy of hip-hop music on American culture.
Albrecht said, “Unique voices and storytelling are the hallmarks
of the Starz programming strategy, and we are proud to announce our
investment in these filmmakers and the stories they passionately
want to tell. With each project, we will explore and better
understand our collective cultural history.”
“Wrong Man” is a six-part series that dives deep into the
investigations that led to the conviction of three people who claim
their innocence. It’s estimated that 1 in 25 prisoners in the U.S.
are convicted for crimes they did not commit. With more than 2
million people in prison, that means a staggering 94,300 innocent
people may be behind bars. Academy Award® and seven-time
Emmy®-nominated and Peabody® and Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe
Berlinger (“Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio,” “Paradise Lost”
Trilogy, “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster”) will executive produce
and direct. Chris Grant (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls,” “The Toy
Box,” “Darkness”) and Drew Buckley (“Running Wild with Bear
Grylls,” “The Toy Box,” “Darkness”) with Electus will executive
produce with Radical’s Justin Wilkes (“Oprah’s Master Class,” “Year
Million,” “Mars”), Dave O’Connor (“Abstract: The Art of Design,”
“Mars,” “America Divided”), Jon Doran (“Park Bench with Steve
Buscemi,” “Neighborhood Sessions,” “Iconoclasts”) and Erica Sashin
(“Parched,” “Border Wars,” “Rescue Ink Unleashed”) with Ben
Silverman (“The Office,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Marco Polo”). “Wrong
Man” is produced by Third Eye Motion Picture Company, Electus and
RadicalMedia. Starz retains all domestic distribution and home
entertainment rights to the series.
“Warriors of Liberty City” docuseries from
PGA-winning showrunner Evan Rosenfeld explores Liberty
City – a crime-ridden neighborhood in Miami, Florida that is
arguably the NFL’s largest football factory. The
series follows a season with the Liberty City Warriors, a
youth football program founded by an unlikely mentor: Luther
Campbell, better known as “Uncle Luke” from the 2 Live
Crew. Before Moonlight shook the Oscars, Liberty City was
best known for some of the biggest names in football, including
Devonta Freeman, Antonio Brown, Duke Johnson, and Teddy
Bridgewater. But it's also a place synonymous with poverty and gun
violence, and even more disturbing, in Liberty City, it’s now kids
killing kids. Yet in the face of trauma and tragedy, football
legends are born.
The series from Rosenfeld (“VICE World of Sports,” 30 for
30's "The U" and "Broke," “Dawg Fight”) is executive produced by
LeBron James and Maverick Carter for SpringHill Entertainment
(STARZ Original series “Survivor’s Remorse,” “The Wall”) and Pam
Healey and John Hesling for Shed Media, a division of Warner Bros.
Unscripted and Alternative Television, as well as Luther
Campbell, will take a deeper dive into the unique
characters and inner-workings of Liberty City. Emmy®
award-winning documentary filmmaker and screenwriter Andrew Cohn
(Night School, Medora, Danny Brown: Live at the Majestic) will
serve as director. Starz retains all global distribution and home
entertainment rights to the series.
"In Fashion” is an hour-long anthology series that will
feature the world’s most compelling fashion designers working
today. Combining biography and documentary storytelling, each
episode will delve into the life and work of one iconic designer.
We will follow them in the weeks leading up to a crucial moment in
their career. Being immersed in their lives, we gain unique access
into the way they work and the intimate stories of how they got to
this place so many strive for but never achieve. Eli Frankel
(“Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian”), Andrew Fried (“Chef’s
Table”) and Kelly Cutrone (“America’s Next Top Model”) will
executive produce. The series is produced by Boardwalk Pictures and
Rogue Atlas Productions in association with Lionsgate, and Starz
has retained all global distribution and home entertainment
rights.
“The Field” explores hip-hop and socio-political
culture through the eyes of a city’s most prolific characters –
past, present and future – capturing the essence of a city’s
personality. Having shaped the culture from within, these
characters tell their stories the way it really was, transporting
the audience into the underbelly that composes the city, a place
that is often seen but seldom accessed. It’s a series that
showcases the hustle and determination of each city’s most iconic
artists. It’s about their desire to rise out from their community
but to never forget the place where they came from. The series
takes the viewer into places only miles apart but worlds away and
into the grit and grime that covers an entire metropolis.
The docuseries is spearheaded by Worldstar Hip Hop and Mass
Appeal. Executive produced by Worldstar's Javier Sang (The Field:
Violence, Hip-Hop and Hope in Chicago) and Ed Dwyer, alongside
Sacha Jenkins (“Being Terry Kennedy,” “The (White) Rapper Show,”
“Fresh Dressed”) and Peter Bittenbender (“Avec Eric,” Fresh
Dressed) of Mass Appeal with Douglas Banker ("World Star
TV," The After Party) of Five All in the Fifth Entertainment.
Mandon Lovett (The Field: Violence, Hip-Hop and Hope in Chicago) is
set to co-direct the premiere episode with Sacha Jenkins and
continue on to direct the series. This series will have an eye for
maintaining the legacy of Worldstar Hip Hop late founder Lee “Q”
Odenat, who was instrumental with the project’s creation and
development. The deal was negotiated and packaged by Jad Dayeh
of WME. Starz retains all global distribution and home
entertainment rights to the series.
Vice President of Original Programming Patrick McDonald is the
Starz executive overseeing these docuseries.
About Starz
Starz (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B),
is a leading global media and entertainment company that provides
premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay
television networks and produces and distributes content for
worldwide audiences, including its investment in the STARZ PLAY
Arabia OTT service. Starz is home to the flagship
STARZ® brand and STARZ ENCORE channels and provides
high-quality, entertaining premium subscription video programming
with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online
services, including the STARZ app. Sold through U.S. multichannel
video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television
providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and
digital platforms, Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000
distinct premium television episodes and feature films every year
and up to 1,500 every month, including STARZ Original series,
first-run movies and other popular movie and television
programming.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171110005540/en/
StarzTheano Apostolou,
424-204-4052theano@starz.comorMichelle Portillo,
720-921-4157michelle.portillo@starz.com
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