ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz Entertainment is ramping
up its original programming slate with a new half-hour comedy series, "Party
Down," which will debut exclusively on Starz in first quarter 2009. The
10-episode scripted series marks the first show produced for the network by
the premium channel's sister company Starz Media. The announcement was made
today by Stephan Shelanski, executive vice president, programming, Starz
Entertainment.
The new original comedy series is created and executive produced by Rob
Thomas ("Veronica Mars," "Cupid") along with John Enbom, Paul Rudd and Dan
Etheridge. Enbom also serves as show runner. Co-executive producers are
Jennifer Gwartz and Danielle Stokdyk. Jennifer Dugan will produce the series.
William J. Hamm, executive vice president, originals productions, Starz Media
will oversee production.
"Party Down" follows a sextet of Hollywood wannabes making ends meet
working for a Los Angeles catering company as they chase their dreams of
stardom. Each episode is a catered event -- a sexy, senior singles mixer, a
video porn awards after-party, a super-sweet 16 party gone horribly wrong,
etc.
"We'll have opportunity for satirical lampooning of whatever subset the
party represents as we tell the ongoing stories of our catering crew," says
Rob Thomas. "If the original British version of 'The Office' was a show about
people who have given themselves over completely to the rat race, 'Party Down'
is a show about people who have chased the dream for far too long. We're
particularly interested in mining the comedy of what happens as the dream
fades."
"'Party Down' is a new daringly fresh series that will bring a new style
of comedy to Starz," Shelanski said. "It further fulfills our mission to
produce intelligent, contemporary original series that traditional networks
cannot offer. We are pleased to work with Rob Thomas who brings a unique and
visionary style to his productions. 'Party Down' will be the perfect companion
show to our hit comedy series 'Head Case'. These two shows will ensure a
dependable destination for fresh, out of the norm comedy entertainment."
Starz Media's Anchor Bay Entertainment will hold exclusive worldwide home
entertainment distribution rights to "Party Down," while the company's
Worldwide Distribution group will handle international television domestic
syndication sales. Starz Media produces and distributes entertainment for
television, for Starz as well as other networks, along with theatrical
releases, DVDs and new media programming.
"Party Down" is the latest installment in Starz' original programming
line-up. The channel's first dramatic series, "Crash," a co-production with
Lionsgate, premieres October 17. "Head Case," an original half-hour comedy
series, which stars Alexandra Wentworth is currently in production with 10 new
episodes and will premiere in '09 along with "Party Down." Starz also features
"Starz Inside," a monthly series of original specials examining people, trends
and culture in movie entertainment hosted by film critic Richard Roeper.
Starz Media, LLC, is a programming production and distribution company
operating worldwide. It includes the Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and
Manga Entertainment brands. Its units create animated and live-action
programming -- including theatrical films -- and programming created under
contract for other media companies. It distributes that programming, and
programming acquired from outside producers, through home video retailers,
theaters, broadcasters, ad supported and premium television channels, and
Internet and wireless video distributors in the US and internationally. Starz
Media (http://www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media
Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.
Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in
the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R)
and Encore(R) brands with approximately 17 million and 31.3 million
subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per
month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz
HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz
HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play.
Starz Entertainment (http://www.starz.com/) is an operating unit of Starz,
LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is
attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group, a tracking stock group of Liberty
Media Corporation.
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