"POWER" EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GARY LENNON SIGNS TWO-YEAR OVERALL DEAL WITH STARZ
STARZ Original Series "Power" Season Three Dominated
Premium Pay Television as Second-Highest Rated Series in 2016*
Beverly Hills, Calif., May 12, 2017 - Starz today announced it has signed STARZ Original series "Power" Executive Producer Gary Lennon to a two-year overall deal. Under the pact, Lennon will develop new projects for the network and continue as executive producer on "Power."
"We are thrilled to be in business with Gary and we look forward to developing new projects with him down the road," said Carmi Zlotnik, president of programming for Starz.
The third season of "Power" delivered a record 8 million multiplatform viewers (Live + SD) per episode** and was the most watched premium television original series in 2016, behind only "Game of Thrones."*** The 10-episode fourth season returns on Sunday, June 25th with a full weekend "Power" Play marathon stunt beginning on Saturday, June 24th at 5 PM ET/PT. "Power" was renewed for Seasons Four and Five following the record-shattering Season Three premiere on July 17, 2016.
"I am very happy to continue my relationship with Starz and looking forward to running my own show for them in the future," said Lennon.
Lennon is an award-winning writer and producer who has worked in all aspects of the entertainment industry. He began his career in theater, writing the plays "Blackout," "Dates and Nuts," "The Interlopers," and "A Family Thing." "The Interlopers" earned massive praise, received three Ovation and two NAACP nominations and was a LA Times Critics Pick. His other play, "A Family Thing" was also a Los Angeles Critics Pick, earning six LA Weekly and two Los Angeles Critic's Circle Nominations. Lennon made his directorial debut with the film .45, starring Mila Jovovich, which he wrote, as well.
He then transitioned to television where he has worked on many critically acclaimed shows including "The Black Donnellys," "The Unusuals," "The Shield" and "Black Box."
Lennon gained great success for producing "Justified" on FX, earning him a 2011 Peabody Award, 2011 Critic's Choice Award Nomination, a 2011 WGA Award and an AFI Award Honoree for Television Program of the Year. Also, he served as supervising producer on the Netflix hit "Orange is the New Black," which earned him a Producers Guild Award, a 2014 Peabody Award, a 2013 WGA Nomination and a 2014 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Lennon is represented by CAA and attorney Craig Emanuel.
About "Power"
Season Four picks up on the heels of James "Ghost" St. Patrick's highly publicized arrest by his ex-girlfriend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Valdes, for the murder of FBI Agent Greg Knox - a crime he did not commit. Ghost can't outrun his past choices and mounting enemies this season, which threaten his freedom and his family's safety at every turn. His fight for redemption brings him face-to-face with the Feds, the media, new allies, and old foes. But the biggest obstacle for Ghost remains himself and his internal struggle between the man he wants to be and the one he really is.
"Power" is a visionary drama that straddles the glamorous Manhattan lifestyles of the rich and infamous and the underworld of the international drug trade. The cast is led by Omari Hardwick as drug kingpin and nightclub impresario James "Ghost" St. Patrick, Joseph Sikora, as his brother in arms in the drug business, Tommy Egan; Naturi Naughton plays Ghost's fierce, loyal wife Tasha St. Patrick; and Lela Loren as his first love, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Angela Valdes.
Courtney A. Kemp serves as the Creator, Showrunner and Executive Producer of "Power." Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Mark Canton, Randall Emmett and Gary Lennon serve as Executive Producers on "Power." The show is also produced by G-Unit Films and Television, the production company launched by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.
"Power" airs in more than 175 countries/territories worldwide. Starz retains all global distribution and home entertainment rights to the series.
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(R) brand with 24.3 million subscribers in the United States as of December 31, 2016, with the STARZ ENCORESM network at 31 million subscribers. Starz 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.
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All sources subject to further qualifications available upon request.
*Source: Nielsen HH Live +7 Rating of episode premieres in Premium 2016
**Source: Based on Starz internal estimates of linear and non-linear / time shifted results from Nielsen (NPower), and internal analysis of broadband data. Subject to further qualifications available upon request.
***Source: Nielsen NPower Live +SD P2+ Projection (000s) of episode premieres in Premium 2016
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