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Posts tagged as “Starz”

‘Power’ Producer 50 Cent Signs Overall Deal with Starz

By goodblacknews on September 29, 2015
50 cent power starz
“Power” producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (COURTESY OF GREGORY PACE/BEI/REX SHUTTERSTOCK)

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has signed a two-year exclusive premium television pact with Starz, the cabler that is home to his drama series “Power.”  Under the deal, Jackson will develop new projects for the network through his G Unit Film & Television, Inc. shingle and continue as executive producer on “Power.”
“Starz has been the perfect partner to make ‘Power’ the success that it is and I am looking forward to developing many more record-breaking series with them,” said Jackson.
Starz has been proud of the success of “Power”; the second season finale in August set a series record for its episode premiere viewership performance (2.39M viewers Live+3). A 10-episode third season ordered in June and production began earlier this month at the series’ home base at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.
“Curtis is a wonderful hands-on producer and actor on ‘Power’ and we look forward to expanding his roles behind-the-camera with Starz over the next two years,” said Carmi Zlotnik, managing director of Starz.
“Power” creator Courtney Kemp Agboh signed her own overall deal with Starz in June. In addition to Kemp Agboh and Jackson, “Power” exec producers are Mark Canton, Randall Emmett and Gary Lennon.
article by Whitney Friedlander via Variety.com

50 Cent-Produced Drama "Power" Lands 3rd Season Renewal From Starz

By goodblacknews on June 10, 2015
Power Starz Renewed
(PHOTO COURTESY OF STARZ)

Starz has ordered a third season of drama “Power,” on the heels of the show’s record-setting season-two premiere on Saturday.  The June 6 premiere set a new Starz benchmark as the most-watched episode of an original series in the pay cabler’s history. In live ratings the episode brought in 1.43 million viewers, a tally that rose to 3.62 million in the live-plus-same-day ratings.
Starz has ordered 10 episodes for season three.
The CBS Television Studios drama stars Omari Hardwick as a drug lord who lives a double life as a chic nightclub owner. Courtney Kemp Agboh is executive producer and showrunner along with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Mark Canton, Randall Emmett and Gary Lennon.
“I am thrilled to learn that season three of ‘Power’ has been officially ordered by Starz. It is an honor to work with Chris Albrecht, Carmi Zlotnik, Ken Segna and the whole Starz team. Their support has been steadfast from the beginning, and I look forward to a bright future together,” Agboh said.
“’Power’ is a project I have been passionate about since day one,” added executive producer and co-star Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. “I am glad the audience loves the show as much as we do, and we are just getting started.”
article by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com

NBA Star Chris Paul Developing Autobiographical ABC Comedy

By goodblacknews on October 24, 2014
Chris Paul Clippers

Add Chris Paul to the list of NBA stars producing autobiographical TV projects.  Paul has teamed with comedy writer Warren Lieberstein and producers Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum to develop a family comedy for CBS TV Studios that is inspired by his experiences growing up in North Carolina with his older brother.

The untitled project revolves around two brothers who work at a service station owned by their grandfather, who champions old-school values in contrast to the attitude of their guarded, politically-correct mother.
Paul, a point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, is executive producing with his brother, CJ Paul, Lieberstein and the Tannenbaums. Paul began his NBA career with the New Orleans Hornets in 2005. He joined the Clippers in 2011.
Lieberstein had a long run on NBC’s “The Office.” More recently he was an executive producer on ABC’s James Caan comedy “Back in the Game.”
Paul’s project comes to ABC at a time when LeBron James’ early years have become the inspiration for the Starz comedy “Survivor’s Remorse,” which was recently renewed for a second season with James among the exec producers. Former NBA player Baron Davis just set up a project at Fox about his experiences growing up in South Central L.A. while attending a prestigious suburban school.
Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant will also be in the spotlight next month with the premiere of the Showtime documentary “Kobe Bryant’s Muse.”
article by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com

Starz Renews 50 Cent’s “Power” For Season Two After Just One Episode

By goodblacknews on June 13, 2014

Screen-shot-2014-06-12-at-9.12.55-AM-378x414
Apparently 50 Cent’s new STARZ series, “Power,” was a major hit. After just one episode, the cable network has announced that the series will be renewed for a second season, Deadline reports.
The fast-moving drama debuted last weekend “with 462,000 Live+same day at 9 PM, 1.27 million for the three Saturday night airings and 2.022 million for the nine weekend runs on Saturday and Sunday.” In case you’ve been out of the loop for a bit, the 50 Cent-produced series is “set in two different worlds, the glamorous New York club scene and the brutal drug trade” and follows the story of Ghost St. Patrick, a drug dealer and businessman with dreams of going legit. Stars include “Being Mary Jane” actor Omari Hardwick, Naturi Naughton and Lela Loren.

“Tasha St. Patrick, she’s crazy,” Naturi recently described her character to Shadow and Act. “She really is Ghost’s sidekick, the other half of Bonnie and Clyde. She came up from the streets, grew up in Queens, and had a rough life. She had desires to be a singer but those desires got cut short because she was pregnant at 19 with Ghost’s child. He’s trying to choose between going legit and staying in the drug game, and she’s pretty much the woman who’s like look, we’ve built this empire together, I’ll ride with you to the end. She’ll throw the gun away, she’ll tell you how to dump the body. She’s an edgy character and not afraid to do whatever it takes to keep the family together.”

Production for season two begins in September.
See more at: http://madamenoire.com/438064/starz-renews-50-cents-power-season-2-just-1-episode/#sthash.bcWJ1fZa.dpuf

50 Cent-Produced Starz Drama Series "Power" Debuts June 7

By goodblacknews on June 1, 2014

Omari Hardwick
Starz’s highly anticipated new original series Power will debut on Saturday, June 7th at 9pm ET/PT. Ahead of that premiere, the network has released the season’s premiere episode online, as part of a multi-platform, nationwide sampling of the first episode.

From the press release:

Power is the first-ever television show to premiere on Twitter using the service’s new in-line video feature that enables one-touch playback. The new video experience is based on Twitter Cards, which extends user interactions beyond favoriting, retweeting and replying and makes it possible for people to do things like watch videos, download apps, or view articles and photos — all from within a Tweet. Select multi-channel video distributors will offer linear, on-demand and online sampling opportunities of the first episode beginning today, May 31, one week in advance of the TV series premiere next Saturday. Approximately 79 million multichannel video households will have access to the sampling opportunities through select cable, satellite and telco affiliates in the United States.

The first episode of Power will also be available at www.starz.com/power, and online through select Starz cable, satellite, telco, and online distributors’ websites, including the Starz Power Twitter page at https://twitter.com/starz_channel, Starz Power MySpace page, the Starz YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/Starz, Starz Power Facebook page at www.facebook.com/power.starz, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Sony Entertainment Network and CinemaNow.

The series premiere of Power will also be available for sampling through the free Starz Play app for all users in the United States.

Executive produced by Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Power is a crime drama set in two different worlds – the glamorous New York club scene and the brutal drug trade.

LeBron James High School Tale Being Acquired by Universal Pictures

By goodblacknews on May 2, 2014

LeBron James
After an aggressive bidding war that saw several studios vying for the film, sources say Universal Pictures is nearing a deal to acquiring the rights to an untitled pic revolving around NBA superstar LeBron James’ high school career.
“Wolf of Wall Street” scribe Terrence Winter and his wife, “Dallas Buyers Club” producer Rachel Winter, will produce along with James and his manager Maverick Carter. The picture is based on a pitch by Frank E. Flowers.
The story was covered in the 2008 documentary, “More Than a Game,” which followed James and his four high school teammates through their playing career together and the ups and downs that came with it while James’ fame grew to astronomical levels.
Besides being considered the best and probably most popular player in the NBA over the past decade, James’ brand and business has become one of the most desirable of any athlete since Michael Jordan, leading Hollywood players to try to get in business with the Miami Heat player.  Universal is a good fit since it is already in the James business — the studio and Imagine Entertainment are currently developing the basketball comedy “Ballers” which James is expected to star in alongside Kevin Hart.
James is also executive-producing the “Entourage”-like Starz comedy “Survivor’s Remorse” about a young basketball star who signs a multi-million dollar contract and moves to Georgia with his cousin.
article by Justin Kroll via Variety.com

Tichina Arnold Joins Cast Of Lebron James’ Starz Sitcom ‘Survivor’s Remorse’

By goodblacknews on March 30, 2014

Tichina-ArnoldTelevision veteran Tichina Arnold will help round out the cast of Starz’s new original comedy series Survivor’s Remorse, executive produced by LeBron James.  The half-hour show centers on two men (one an NBA star, the other one not) who make it out of North Philadelphia’s inner city to a more extravagant life of fame and fortune. Along the way, they fight with the guilt of their struggling peers left behind.
Jessie T. Usher will take the lead of basketball talent Cam Calloway who signs a multi-million dollar contract, while Arnold plays his mother.
Let’s Stay Together supporting actor Ronreaco Lee has been cast as Cam’s cousin and confidant Reggie Vaughn and Erica Ash of The Real Husbands of Hollywood will play Cam’s sister M-Chuck.  The group joins Teyonah Parris who will play Lee’s wife Missy.
Survivor’s Remorse is set to air this fall.
article by Camille Travis via uptown magazine.com

LeBron James-Produced Comedy Series Gets Picked Up by Starz

By goodblacknews on February 5, 2014

LeBron JamesStarz has given a series order to the basketball comedy from NBA star LeBron James.  The half-hour scripted series, Survivor’s Remorse, is set in the world of professional basketball and, according to the series description, “explores the comedy and drama of an experience that everyone reads about but few understand — what truly happens when you make it out.”  The comedy was announced last September and the shot clock is ticking fast, with a fall premiere being eyed. For the premium channel that has steadily crafted a brand of sweeping period dramas, Survivor’s Remorse marks a toe-dipping back into the comedy waters.

It centers on Cam Calloway, a basketball powerhouse in his early 20s who must navigate the limelight after inking a multimillion-dollar contract with a professional basketball team. Something the Miami Heat star might know something about.  James serves as an executive producer, alongside Tom Werner (Roseanne, That ’70s Show), Maverick Carter, Paul Wachter and Mike O’Malley (actor on Glee, writer on Shameless), who will also write.

“Ever since I got cut from the freshman hoop team at Bishop Guertin High School in 1980, I’ve wanted to write about my love and hatred of basketball,” O’Malley said in a statement. “Starz has given us great freedom to explore an authentic world inspired by Maverick and LeBron. Tom’s legendary TV career and his experiences as a professional sports owner combined with Paul’s wealth of business and entertainment industry relationships have given this team a truly strong foundation to build a successful series.”