Photo: Divulgação/Starz/Pipoca Moderna
The American channel Starz is canceling four original series from many Hollywood stars in its upcoming release. The canceled series included the book drama Heels, the comedy Run the World and the drama Blindsided after their second run. However, unproduced drama Samantha Bird’s Venice will not return to production due to a backlog of several episodes before it starts in May.
Talents lost
The canceled series had many talented bastidores. “Heels” was written by Stephen Amell (“Arrow”) and Alexander Ludwig (“Vikings”) and created by “Loki” mentor Michael Waldron. “Run the World” was produced by Yvette Lee Bowser (“Living Single”) and “Blindspotting” was co-written by Daveed Diggs (“Expresso do Amanhã”). Samantha Bird’s Venice starring Katherine Langford, featured in 13 Reasons Why.
No impact on the market
The cancellation of four original series is a significant move for the network, which follows shortly after the success of the long-running Outlander. The channel and its streaming platform rely heavily on long-running spin-offs “Power” and some other programs such as the horror-comedy “Shining Valley.” Keeping its focus on spin-offs, Starz has a greenlit film for a series based on Outlander called Outlander: Blood of My Blood, produced by the executive producers of the original series.
It’s worth noting that Lionsgate, the channel in question, is trying to sell Starz, or that it could also be hit by a wave of cancellations. The company announced that it will exit the streaming market in Brazil this year, where it operates on the Lionsgate+ platform.