The premium cable movie channel Starz has reportedly canceled three of their shows plus one upcoming project, according to Deadline. Starz will no longer be continuing the run of the wrestling drama Heels, as well as Run the World and Blindspotting. In addition, the channel has also decided not to proceed with The Venery of Samantha Bird. Heels, Run the World and Blindspotting have all completed two seasons, but The Venery of Samantha Bird was in the middle of production when the show paused for the strikes. Two episodes were left to film in the season.
Heels was produced by Lionsgate and Paramount Network Television and the plot, per Deadline, “revolves around the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small-town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals (Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig) war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.”
According to Deadline, “Run the World follows a group of smart, funny, and vibrant thirty-something Black women – fiercely loyal best friends – who live, work and play in Harlem.” The series was created, written and executive produced by Leigh Davenport and starred Amber Stevens West, Andrea Bordeaux, Bresha Webb and Corbin Reid star alongside Stephen Bishop and Tosin Morohunfola. Season one would also guest star Erika Alexander, Nick Sagar, Jay Walker and Tonya Pinkins.
Blindspotting comes from Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs and “centers on Ashley (Jasmine Cephas Jones), who was nipping at the heels of a middle-class life in Oakland until Miles (Casal), her partner of 12 years and father of their son, Sean (Atticus Woodward) was suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic life when she is forced to move in with Miles’ mother, Rainey (Helen Hunt), and sister, Trish (Jaylen Barron).”
The Venery of Samantha Bird starred Katherine Langford and was created by Anna Moriarty. The show featured the title character “while visiting family in New England, Samantha Bird reconnects with her childhood sweetheart and falls headlong into a seemingly perfect storybook romance. But underneath their fever dream lurks a more unsettling interpretation of this affair. The series is described as a haunting portrayal of addictive love and the repercussions that a relationship has on the families in a small New England town.”