Starz hires CBS alum to lead originals

US cablenet Starz has appointed former CBS exec Christina Davis as president of original programming following the departure of Carmi Zlotnik earlier this year.

Christina Davis

Davis was previously executive VP of drama series development at CBS Entertainment, a role she held from 2009 to 2017.

During her 11 years in this position, she worked on projects such as CSI, NCIS, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, Hawaii Five-O, Elementary, Madam Secretary, Scorpion, Bull, MacGyver and Code Black.

Davis started out in the CBS drama series department in 1997 as assistant to then drama head Nina Tassler before working her way up at the firm.

After leaving CBS in 2017, Davis co-founded prodco Maniac Productions with writer-producer Michael Seitzman, based at ABC Studios.

In her new role at Lionsgate-owned Starz, Davis will lead the programming and development team, helping to deliver the production of premium content for women and diverse audiences worldwide.

Davis replaces former programming head Zlotnik, who left Starz in January after 10 years at the company. Since February, he has been working as a producer at Apple TV+.

“Christina has established an impressive track record in developing successful, quality drama series and building lasting, fruitful relationships within the creative community which I believe will allow us to fully execute on the creative vision we have set for Starz,” said president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch.