Kathryn Busby, Starz president of original programming, has been busy constructing the network’s original programming lineup since coming on board from Sony’s TriStar Television in 2021.
Busby has overseen the continued expansion of the network’s successful Power franchise and has presided over shows like comedy series Run the World, now in its second season, and the return earlier this year of comedy series Party Down after a 13-year hiatus.
The former Gemstone Studios, New Line Cinema and Universal Television executive also green-lit Blood of My Blood, the first spinoff series for the network’s fantasy drama Outlander.
Busby recently spoke to Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead about the Lionsgate-owned network’s criteria for developing shows, its commitment to offering diverse stories and images on screen and her thoughts on the future of the industry. An edited transcript follows.
What characteristics do you look for when greenlighting a Starz original series? First and foremost, it’s about the creative. We need to love the story and the specificity of voice, but also need to assess how it works within our slate at a particular moment. We want to make sure that the series will be both premium and populist, with iconic characters and a propulsive narrative. We consider if it’s something we haven’t seen on TV before, the producibility of it and our faith in the show creators.
How have long-running, successful franchises like Power and Outlander helped define the Starz brand for audiences? We are so fortunate to have those two incredible franchises on Starz that have passionate fans, amazing creative partners and characters and stories that continue to thrive and expand. While these shows may seem different from each other, they feature compelling characters that viewers become deeply invested in, they are female-leaning — although there is a lot more co-viewing than people realize — and offer diverse perspectives and stories we haven’t seen before. Both the Outlander and Power universes have been vital Starz foundational blocks for other incredible series to build on, such as P-Valley, The Serpent Queen and BMF.
What shows are you binge-watching? [Netflix’s] Beef; [Prime Video’s] Swarm; [HBO’s] The Last of Us
Books on your nightstand? Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby, Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris and A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes by Rodrigo Garcia
Favorite TV show of all time? The Wire
Favorite podcast? This American Life
Bucket-list vacation spots? Cape Town, Marrakesh and Cinque Terre
Starz has been very proactive in fostering diversity both in front of and behind the camera. How important is inclusion to you as part of Starz’s overall programming strategy? It’s truly an honor to work at a place that walks the walk when it comes to diversity and inclusion. We know this has been a talking point for many media companies, but at Starz it’s gratifying to look at our team and see so many people of color who are incredible at the work they do and the perspective they bring to the company. In addition to being the right thing to do, it’s a very smart business decision to focus on underrepresented audiences (women and people of color) and we’ve changed television for the better because of that. We have many series in development that speak to our continuing commitment to diversity and inclusion.
How does Starz remain viable and successful in a crowded and shifting television distribution marketplace? The television landscape is constantly evolving and we’ve been nimble enough to navigate the shifting tides, for example with the Starz app and bundling opportunities. We are fortunate to have a unique foothold within the marketplace and will continue to bring series that serve and expand our subscriber base. We strive to be a place creators want to call home.
What projects can we expect to see in the near future? We previously announced several new series in development [including Blood of My Blood] so we are excited to see how that process goes and where things net out.
