Starz’s Adult-Only Focus Holds Network Steady as Hollywood Contracts, Programming President Says

Starz president of programming Kathryn Busby believes “there’s no set answer” to a media company’s success amid a contracted Hollywood marketplace. But for the premium cable network and streamer, an adults-only identity helps keep its slate focused as competitors struggle to define their strategies with less money to spend on new shows.

Like many Hollywood distributors, Starz has made tough calls to adjust to industry changes. The network recently canceled a number of original series — including the Stephen Amell-led “Heels,” and comedies “Blindspotting,” “Run the World” and “Minx” — to prepare for a planned separation from its parent company Lionsgate that will be official by the end of this year.

Still the network’s upcoming slate is full of promising originals, including the Shailene Woodley-led limited series “Three Women” (which it picked up after Showtime dropped it from their slate); a new talk show hosted by rapper and social media star Fat Joe; and international productions like the Ella Purnell-led “Sweetpea” and “The Couple Next Door,” starring “Outlander” fan-favorite Sam Heughan.

The network is also in production on a reboot of its classic hit “Spartacus” and a new season of “P-Valley,” while developing further additions to its “Power” and “Outlander” franchises. The avenues of production might vary between in-house originals and acquisitions, and across dramatic genres, but Busby said the new “We’re all adults here” slogan keeps the network’s offerings uniform for its loyal audiences.

“We’re so particular (with our programming) that the confusion and complexities of the marketplace don’t affect us as much, because people know what a Starz show is,” Busby told TheWrap during the Television Critics Association summer press tour in July. “We know who we are and it’s working.”

Though the service saw a 2% dip in subscribers to 19.35 million domestic users in its latest quarterly report (the next report is set to be released Aug. 8), Starz boasted itself as the first platform to successfully transition from linear to digital — while still a pay cable network, Starz is also a streaming platform that is $9.99 per month and is currently offering a promotional price for its app at $4.99 per month for 3 months. The company anticipates 70% of its revenue to come from its digital platform, while keeping its service ad-free.

Busby spoke with TheWrap about keeping the network on task creatively, the future of its comedy slate and more.

TheWrap: Starz’s upcoming slate boasts a wide variety of stories from both domestic and international productions. What breakdown between the two are you looking for?

It’s not like we want 25% international or 75% domestic. It is about whether the show speaks to who we are and what we do. We’re blessed in that our audience loves international programs, so that means that we can really scour the world. We’re always looking for untold stories from unheard voices, and we’re looking for the Starz swagger. You can see it in “Outlander,” you can see it in “The Serpent Queen,” in “Three Women.”

Starz is working toward a split from Lionsgate. How does that upcoming separation impact your decision-making?

I once had a boss who said to me that when companies are moving — and when those big shifts are happening — we are the creatives, so we put our head down and we do the work. We just work on the shows, we continue our pipeline. So it doesn’t affect the way I do business. It doesn’t affect what we’re looking for. We keep looking, and we’ll see what the world is like after the split.

Bringing Fat Joe into the fold with his own talk show is an exciting announcement. How did that project come about? What can you tease about the vibes of the show?

Fat Joe is a secret that the world is about to discover. Now I mean, Fat Joe is so known and so beloved in the culture. And we were looking at the impact of what he was doing on Instagram; the way he is everywhere in America interviewing people, the way he’s rolling with people. He’s just hanging with everyone! So we just thought, why not give him a shot? What he does speaks so much to what we do and what our audiences love. It just felt like, this guy is going to blow up. And we really feel like he’s going to be wonderful.

[His show is] coming this fall and we’re in pre-production. We’re going to be shooting very soon. I was in a meeting with him recently, and I literally wanted to just turn the cameras on. Because when he’s speaking, he’s entertaining. When he looks at the camera and tells you his opinion of what’s happening in the world I just said, “This guy is a show right now in the boardroom.”

“Three Women,” which Starz rescued from Showtime, is sure to make a splash. Then you just announced the UK production “Sweetpea” for your slate and “The Couple Next Door” with Sam Heughan. Why pick up shows like these?

The brilliance of good writing and good acting is it doesn’t really matter where it comes from. Every time we look at a show we say, is the show great? Is it great for Starz? And if it’s great for Starz, we want it. Obviously, we develop a lot of our shows, but we are very happy to do coproductions and to acquire shows as long as they fit our mandate. As you know, it’s a great time for television, and television can walk in the door in so many ways.

It’s also a very complicated time for the industry, because we’re seeing a lot of companies being more conservative and looking for ways to make productions cheaper. So whether it’s acquisitions or coproductions, what process have you found that works best for Starz?

There’s no set answer… And you’re right, the business today is more complicated and everybody’s looking at the bottom line in different ways. But we want shows that work for Starz, and they might have a very high budget, or they might be acquisitions that are less. For us, it’s always about the quality of the show and whether it works for Starz.

The network said goodbye to its comedy slate earlier this year, including “Minx,” “Blindspotting” and “Shining Vale.” What’s the status of the comedy genre in your plans for the network?

I think trends change over time, and what audiences respond to changes. So while right now our Starz audience is more drawn to the dramas, it doesn’t mean that comedies will be dead forever at Starz. It just means that it’s a much longer shot, and perhaps a higher bar… I would never say forever, but right now we are focusing on drama.

Starz has been leaning on women-centered stories for a while now. Why reboot “Spartacus”?

“Spartacus” was a legacy show for Starz, and ever since it’s been off the air, we’ve been hearing from our fans that they love and missed it. So we thought, if we were to bring it back, how would we evolve it? How could we be true to the original “Spartacus” but also be closer to what we want to do with Starz today? So having this great female gladiator, and a female gladiator of color (played by Tenika Davis) really speaks 2.0 for “Spartacus.”

We can’t wait for people to see it, but there’s a way to do it and evolve it at the same time and make it you know, again, more in line with what we’re doing and what is important to us as storytellers.

The “Power” franchise is saying goodbye to “Books II” and “IV” soon. What does the future of the franchise look like? Are there more shows in development?

I can’t tell you more than you’ve heard in terms of the specifics, but I can tell you that when we say “Power Book” we mean there are chapters. Some are going to close, but others are going to open and it is a beautiful thing. When we have conversations about the Powerverse, and all of the tangents that we can do and that we can move to, it’s really exciting because it is so far from over. I can tell you that we love the potential of that franchise, and we love that it’s going to keep continuing. That doesn’t mean that it’s not hard to say goodbye to the ones that are ending, but we also have that excitement of what’s coming. And (prequel series) “Origins” is just the one that we’ve announced so far.

The “Power” and “Outlander” franchises have been powerhouses for Starz. How are you thinking about your franchises? What balance are you looking for with franchises vs. new series?

We are so grateful for the franchises that we have, and we’re going to nurture them and continue them. However, we love that we’re also bringing in new programming that speaks to our audiences. So there’s a lot in development that is in our pipeline that will come out and that will live alongside our franchises. There’s room for both and we’re actively pushing toward both.

“P-Valley” is in production for Season 3. What can you tease about its return?

I can tease nothing. But I can tell you that “P-Valley” is a gift and that (creator) Katori Hall is a genius. I was in Atlanta when production started and my heart was swelling with joy and excitement. This is a series that continues to just get better and better. If you’re a “P-Valley” fan, you’re going to be blown away by Season 3. A lot that happens is big, it’s beautiful, it’s important. It’s just a masterpiece.

Everyone’s talking about the contraction in Hollywood, and buyers taking a more conservative approach after the strikes. What do you think about the state of the TV marketplace right now?

I know there’s a lot of change and a lot of uncertainty. But what we love is that we know who we are, and the industry knows who we are. We know what a Starz show is and we continue to serve up programming to our loyal fan base. We’re so particular that the confusion and complexities of the marketplace don’t affect us as much, because people know what a Starz show is. That clarity really is giving us an edge right now. As companies are trying to figure out where they’re going, we know who we are and it’s working.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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