Kathryn Busby, who was hired by Starz in January to take over as president of original programming, joined a premium cable network with two major tentpoles: The “Outlander” and “Power” franchises. So she did what any good network executive might do: She leaned into them.
“They are monsters,” she says of the two worlds. “Power” ended its run in 2020 but spawned the spinoffs “Power Book II: Ghost,” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and “Power Book IV: Force.” (A fifth edition, a show starring Larenz Tate and set in the political world, will not be moving forward, Busby confirms.) And “Outlander,” which recently wrapped its sixth season (with a 16-episode Season 7 already ordered), is about to get its first scripted spinoff as well: The prequel “Outlander: Blood of My Blood,” which the network confirmed earlier this month.
Busby, who talked to Variety as Starz prepared to unveil its latest wares on Thursday at the network’s virtual TV Critics Assn. press tour panel, says the two shows help define Starz, and its programming focus. “I like to say they’re shows that have swagger,” she says. “They are shows that are both premium and commercial. They are propulsive and provocative and they’re great power character pieces. As other networks out there and other streamers are becoming a little more general entertainment, I feel like people know what they get when they come to Starz.”
The success of “Outlander,” particularly among female audiences, informed the network’s upcoming slate of period dramas including “The Serpent Queen,” starring Samantha Morton as Catherine de Medici as she rises to power in 16th century France, and a new take on “Dangerous Liaisons,” set in pre-revolutionary Paris.
“Power,” meanwhile, is a juggernaut, but the network is equally proud of Katori Hall’s “P-Valley,” which Busby boldy puts on par creatively with HBO’s iconic “The Wire,” and the network’s upcoming romantic drama from Ava DuVernay.
Busby, who most recently served as exec VP and head of Sony’s TriStar TV label, is a TV vet whose resume also includes stops at TBS, New Line, Carsey-Werner and Universal TV. She was enticed by the idea of strengthening Starz’s reputation for programming where the voices of women and people of color are front and center.
“As a black woman, I didn’t feel that I was on the screen,” she says. “I didn’t feel that people like me were on the screen. And so I’ve always wanted to be in a place that championed underrepresented voices.”
Other creators in the Starz fold include Tanya Saracho, who was behind the network’s critically acclaimed “Vida” and is now developing “Lovesong,” a half-hour drama about Mexican American friends living in London; as well as “Dear White People” alums Justin Simien, Steven J. Kung and Leann Bowen, who are working on the Asian American comedy “Plan A.” And Marlon Wayans, whose semi-autobiographical comedy series “Book of Marlon” was previously set up at HBO Max, has moved his project to Starz as well.
Because she’s on the production side, Busby doesn’t have much to say when it comes to the question of what happens as a whole to Starz as parent Lionsgate prepares to either sell the network or turn it into a separate company. But she’s also a bit leery to discuss the decision to cast Mel Gibson in the “John Wick” prequel series “The Continental,” since that decision pre-dates her arrival. “For anyone who likes ‘John Wick,’ they’re going to love ‘The Continental,’” she says.
She’s more forthcoming in her enthusiasm for the revival of “Party Down,” which still has a loyal following despite its short-two-season run in 2009 and 2010. With a cast that is even more busy and in demand than they were a decade ago, the “Party Down” return was logistically tough to pull off. But Busby hasn’t shut down the idea of more seasons: “It’s a gift,” she says. “I would always hope that there’s a possibility for more. Certainly, we would love to ask that question and entertain that possibility.”
Also on the Starz docket: New seasons of “Shining Vale,” “Blindspotting,” “BMF” and “Hightown.” One thing you won’t see many more of are limited series in the vein of “Gaslight,” the Julia Roberts/Sean Penn look at the Watergate break-in that earned solid reviews but failed to earn key Emmy nominations — despite that A-list star power. Busby calls the lack of Emmy love “disappointing,” but says stepping back from limited series is more strategic than based on accolades — focusing on recurring series to define the Starz brand just makes more economic sense.
“They’re more of a financial risk… so if we’re going to do limited series, they’ve got to really be big like that,” she says. “They have to be very, very special. Otherwise we really do try and figure a way to have them be recurring.” Busby says the DuVernay series, which would run for three seasons, is a bit of a compromise.
“It’s a way for us to do a radical rebellious love story between a deaf Black woman and a white man [played by Joshua Jackson],” she says. “It tackles race and class and disability and privilege. But part of what we did in putting it into development is it’s three seasons. So it’s not limited, but it feels like it’s limited because we already know where it’s beginning and we know where it’s going to end.”
That kind of representation is at the heart of Starz’s “Take the Lead” campaign, which Busby says also describes “what we do as a practice in programming and also how we run our company. Starz really is a leader in that. I’ve never worked in a company like this, where 75% of our executive suite is female and the people in the boardroom, 50% are people of color. I know these numbers because I’m proud of them. 63% of our series leads are people of color. 54% of our show runners are women. Almost 50% of our directors are people of color. We are doing great programming, successful programming, but we’re also contributing to the world in the way that we think that Hollywood should. I know that sounds rah rah but honestly, I didn’t have the opportunity to be that way in my other lives.”
