Fernandez to leave Starz

Marta Fernandez is to leave her role overseeing originals at US cabler Starz, marking the latest departure from the network following the exit of CEO Chris Albrecht in March.

Marta Fernandez

Fernandez has been with Starz since 2007 and was promoted from senior VP to exec VP of original programming in December 2018.

She has worked in development and on existing shows such as Vida and American Gods, while also gaining credits on series such as Spartacus, Da Vinci’s Demons and forthcoming strip club drama P-Valley.

The news of her departure comes three months after Albrecht revealed he would be leaving Starz after nearly a decade with the company. Starz chief operating officer Jeffrey Hirsch and programming president Carmi Zlotnik, plus Jon Feltheimer, CEO of parent company Lionsgate, have taken interim charge of the network, with a full-time replacement for Albrecht yet to be named.

Albrecht had initially extended his stay with the cablenet for four years when he added the title of president to his role in 2016, following Lionsgate’s acquisition of Starz for US$4.4bn earlier that year. Since then, the studio has been integrating its teams with that of the cablenet, though not its originals division.

The cablenet has also been the subject of recent takeover speculation in the US, with rumours that Lionsgate rejected an informal offer of  $5bn from fellow stateside broadcaster CBS.