Please wait...
Please wait...

US cablenet Starz searches for shows from Latin American, Asian creators

Starz’s Kathryn Busby speaking at Content LA today

CONTENT LA: Lionsgate-owned US cablenet Starz is searching for more original programming by and for Latin American and Asian audiences as it hunts for another franchise to take over from Outlander.

Kathryn Busby, president of original programming at Starz, told Content LA delegates today that the network is committed to doubling down on programming for underrepresented voices and women.

“We don’t have enough Latin American or Asian shows. That’s a focus for us on our development slate,” said Busby, who also discussed the romantic drama it is developing with Ava DuVernay and actors Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff, who is deaf.

The as-yet untitled project has a script-to-series commitment for three seasons and 18 episodes and follows two people with polar-opposite personalities who become intertwined in a love affair that turns their worlds – and those of everyone around them – upside down.

Busby said Ridloff, who has starred in Eternals and The Walking Dead, is a “force of nature” and that the show is an opportunity to tackle “class, race, love and ability. It speaks to doubling down on what we think we do well and growing it.”

Busby added that Starz is hoping its prequel to historical drama Outlander can help extend the franchise on the cablenet, while it remains on the lookout for other shows that can start a new franchise.

Meanwhile, Busby said Starz is also on the lookout for bingeable thrillers “in the vein of Big Little Lies or The Night Of” and that competition for originals in the US is incredibly high.

RELATED ARTICLES

Please wait...