It may not have the scale of Netflix or the same sheen as HBO or even Paramount’s Showtime, but Starz continues to build its original programming with hits like Outlander, Party Down, and the massive franchise that is Power. Let’s say you decide to see what the buzz is about and add Starz to whatever cable or streaming package you’re paying for in the 2020s. What should you watch first? These are the best of the best on Starz. You can’t go wrong with any of them.
Year: 2014 to present
Length: 7 seasons, 83 episodes
Creator: Ronald D. Moore
This is the show that arguably put Starz original programming on the map (sorry, Spartacus fans). From the minute it premiered way back in 2014, this period romantic drama with elements of sci-fi built a very loyal fan base. Caitriona Balfe stars as a World War II nurse who is suddenly transported to 1743, when she starts a whole new life. Based on the book by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander has been one of the biggest critical and commercial hits for the Starz company for a reason. See why for yourself.
Year: 2018
Length: 1 season, 10 episodes
Creator: Steve James
This show should have been a bigger deal. The brilliant documentarian behind Hoop Dreams and Life Itself created this masterful ten-part series that follows a group of students at Oak Park and River Forest High School during the 2015–16 school year. Capturing both the variety of young people at the school and the commonalities found among them makes for some of the best nonfiction television of its era.
Years: 2015–18
Length: 3 seasons, 30 episodes
Creators: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Tom Spezialy
When Evil Dead Rise brought the world of the Deadites back to big screens in 2023, not enough people noted how there had been some pretty excellent horror-comedy in this world on Starz just a few years earlier. And this one has Ash! Bruce Campbell returned to the role that made him a star in this goofy horror hit that nails the blend of unexpected horror and humor that made the original trilogy into genre classics.
Year: 2019
Length: 1 season, 8 episodes
Creator: Sarah Phelps
If you haven’t read anything by Tana French, you should actually put down the remote and come back to this feature. Start with In the Woods, a masterful mystery that is the basis for this BBC and Starz co-production that also incorporates elements of French’s also great The Likeness. French is one of our best mystery writers, and this is a great gateway to her literary world.
Year: 2022
Length: 1 season, 8 episodes
Creator: Robbie Pickering
The Watergate scandal has been so heavily covered in film, TV, and documentaries that the oversaturation might have led to too many people dismissing this clever, fun miniseries with an A-list cast. Julia Roberts leads this take on Watergate that’s kind of from the periphery. She plays Martha Mitchell, wife to Attorney General John Mitchell, played by none other than Sean Penn. Dan Stevens and Betty Gilpin are great too, but the show is stolen by an unforgettable Shea Whigham as G. Gordon Liddy.
Year: 2022–23
Length: 2 seasons, 18 episodes
Creator: Ellen Rapoport
Jake Johnson (New Girl) does some of the best work of his career in this fan favorite, a show that originally premiered on Max in 2022 but was then canceled while in the middle of production on season two, which was then abruptly picked up by Starz. (Sadly, it was canceled after season two.) Ophelia Lovibond co-stars in the story of the development of the first women’s erotic magazine in Los Angeles in the ’70s. Great period detail — along with a show that treats sexuality as more than a joke — allows this show to stand out.
Year: 2014–17
Length: 2 seasons, 16 episodes
Creators: Harry Williams, Jack Williams
James Nesbitt gives one of the best TV performances of its era in the first season of The Missing, which is about the horror that faces two parents (the other played by Frances O’Connor) who have to deal with the disappearance of their child in France. Tchéky Karyo is also excellent as the investigating detective who returns for the second season, which features great turns from David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes.
Year: 2009–23
Length: 3 seasons, 26 episodes
Creators: John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, Paul Rudd
Way back in 2009, most of the cast members of Party Down weren’t quite stars yet, but that’s certainly not true 15 years later, when this cult-comedy hit can be viewed as the launchpad for so many great careers, including Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, Jennifer Coolidge, and Lizzy Caplan. Canceled after only two seasons — so Scott and Lynch could go on to the roles that really made them stars — it was revived for a critically acclaimed reunion season in 2023.
Year: 2014–20
Length: 6 seasons, 63 episodes
Creator: Courtney A. Kemp
Outlander may be the biggest Starz show, but this is a close second and has undeniably created more jobs with its multiple installments and spinoffs. The original story of a drug dealer named Ghost (Omari Hardwick) who wants to go straight but gets sucked back into the criminal world is an easy watch full of twists and turns and memorable characters. It’s worth noting that Power won multiple NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Drama, Actor, and Supporting Actress. It has also become a spinoff beast, launching Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force. Of course, they’re all on Starz, and they’re all still actively producing episodes.
Year: 2022 to present
Length: 2 seasons, 16 episodes
Creator: Justin Haythe
Samantha Morton (In America) is a dramatic force in this period piece based on Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France, by Leonie Frieda. She plays Catherine, who was married into royalty when she was only 14, rising to a throne that she would hold for decades. Sharply made, this is mostly a reminder of how good Morton can be with the right material. How good? The first season notched 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
