Starz Adding Unscripted Programming to Larger Portfolio of STARZ Series with Four Original
Docuseries
Docuseries Examine the Criminal Justice System, A Winning Youth Football Program, Fashion
Designers and the Legacy of Hip-Hop Music
Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht announced today the network is adding unscripted programming to its larger portfolio of
STARZ Originals by greenlighting four new docuseries that explore the criminal justice system, a youth sports program, the world of
fashion and the legacy of hip-hop music on American culture.
Albrecht said, “Unique voices and storytelling are the hallmarks of the Starz programming strategy, and we are proud to announce
our investment in these filmmakers and the stories they passionately want to tell. With each project, we will explore and better
understand our collective cultural history.”
“Wrong Man” is a six-part series that dives deep into the investigations that led to the conviction of three people who
claim their innocence. It’s estimated that 1 in 25 prisoners in the U.S. are convicted for crimes they did not commit. With more
than 2 million people in prison, that means a staggering 94,300 innocent people may be behind bars. Academy Award® and
seven-time Emmy®-nominated and Peabody® and Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger (“Gone: The Forgotten Women
of Ohio,” “Paradise Lost” Trilogy, “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster”) will executive produce and direct. Chris Grant (“Running Wild
with Bear Grylls,” “The Toy Box,” “Darkness”) and Drew Buckley (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls,” “The Toy Box,” “Darkness”) with
Electus will executive produce with Radical’s Justin Wilkes (“Oprah’s Master Class,” “Year Million,” “Mars”), Dave O’Connor
(“Abstract: The Art of Design,” “Mars,” “America Divided”), Jon Doran (“Park Bench with Steve Buscemi,” “Neighborhood Sessions,”
“Iconoclasts”) and Erica Sashin (“Parched,” “Border Wars,” “Rescue Ink Unleashed”) with Ben Silverman (“The Office,” “Jane the
Virgin,” “Marco Polo”). “Wrong Man” is produced by Third Eye Motion Picture Company, Electus and RadicalMedia. Starz retains all
domestic distribution and home entertainment rights to the series.
“Warriors of Liberty City” docuseries from PGA-winning showrunner Evan Rosenfeld explores Liberty
City – a crime-ridden neighborhood in Miami, Florida that is arguably the NFL’s largest football factory. The
series follows a season with the Liberty City Warriors, a youth football program founded by an unlikely
mentor: Luther Campbell, better known as “Uncle Luke” from the 2 Live Crew. Before Moonlight shook
the Oscars, Liberty City was best known for some of the biggest names in football, including Devonta Freeman, Antonio Brown, Duke
Johnson, and Teddy Bridgewater. But it's also a place synonymous with poverty and gun violence, and even more disturbing, in
Liberty City, it’s now kids killing kids. Yet in the face of trauma and tragedy, football legends are born.
The series from Rosenfeld (“VICE World of Sports,” 30 for 30's "The U" and "Broke," “Dawg Fight”) is executive produced by
LeBron James and Maverick Carter for SpringHill Entertainment (STARZ Original series “Survivor’s Remorse,” “The Wall”) and Pam
Healey and John Hesling for Shed Media, a division of Warner Bros. Unscripted and Alternative Television, as well as Luther
Campbell, will take a deeper dive into the unique characters and inner-workings of Liberty City. Emmy®
award-winning documentary filmmaker and screenwriter Andrew Cohn (Night School, Medora, Danny Brown: Live at the
Majestic) will serve as director. Starz retains all global distribution and home entertainment rights to the series.
"In Fashion” is an hour-long anthology series that will feature the world’s most compelling fashion designers working
today. Combining biography and documentary storytelling, each episode will delve into the life and work of one iconic designer. We
will follow them in the weeks leading up to a crucial moment in their career. Being immersed in their lives, we gain unique access
into the way they work and the intimate stories of how they got to this place so many strive for but never achieve. Eli Frankel
(“Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian”), Andrew Fried (“Chef’s Table”) and Kelly Cutrone (“America’s Next Top Model”) will executive
produce. The series is produced by Boardwalk Pictures and Rogue Atlas Productions in association with Lionsgate, and Starz has
retained all global distribution and home entertainment rights.
“The Field” explores hip-hop and socio-political culture through the eyes of a city’s most prolific characters –
past, present and future – capturing the essence of a city’s personality. Having shaped the culture from within, these characters
tell their stories the way it really was, transporting the audience into the underbelly that composes the city, a place that is
often seen but seldom accessed. It’s a series that showcases the hustle and determination of each city’s most iconic artists. It’s
about their desire to rise out from their community but to never forget the place where they came from. The series takes the viewer
into places only miles apart but worlds away and into the grit and grime that covers an entire metropolis.
The docuseries is spearheaded by Worldstar Hip Hop and Mass Appeal. Executive produced by Worldstar's Javier Sang (The Field:
Violence, Hip-Hop and Hope in Chicago) and Ed Dwyer, alongside Sacha Jenkins (“Being Terry Kennedy,” “The (White) Rapper Show,”
“Fresh Dressed”) and Peter Bittenbender (“Avec Eric,” Fresh Dressed) of Mass Appeal with Douglas Banker ("World Star
TV," The After Party) of Five All in the Fifth Entertainment. Mandon Lovett (The Field: Violence, Hip-Hop and Hope
in Chicago) is set to co-direct the premiere episode with Sacha Jenkins and continue on to direct the series. This series will
have an eye for maintaining the legacy of Worldstar Hip Hop late founder Lee “Q” Odenat, who was instrumental with the project’s
creation and development. The deal was negotiated and packaged by Jad Dayeh of WME. Starz retains all global distribution and
home entertainment rights to the series.
Vice President of Original Programming Patrick McDonald is the Starz executive overseeing these docuseries.
About Starz
Starz (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), is a leading global media and entertainment company
that provides premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television networks and produces and distributes content
for worldwide audiences, including its investment in the STARZ PLAY Arabia OTT service. Starz is home to the flagship
STARZ® brand and STARZ ENCORE channels and provides high-quality, entertaining premium subscription video
programming with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online services, including the STARZ app. Sold through
U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and
other online and digital platforms, Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000 distinct premium television episodes and feature films
every year and up to 1,500 every month, including STARZ Original series, first-run movies and other popular movie and television
programming.
Starz
Theano Apostolou, 424-204-4052
theano@starz.com
or
Michelle Portillo, 720-921-4157
michelle.portillo@starz.com
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