STARZ TO DEVELOP SCRIPTED SERIES, "AIRBORNE,"
FROM AWARD WINNING SCREENWRITER GIDEON YAGO
Beverly Hills, Calif. - April 9, 2013 - Starz announced today that it will develop a new original drama series from "Newsroom" writer Gideon Yago with Executive Producer Rob Tapert. "Airborne" is a coming of age story set at the dawn of the Vietnam War. The series follows a young helicopter crew as they fight for survival, sanity, their souls, and each other in a country - and war - that are descending into chaos.
The new original series will be produced by Starz with Executive Producer Rob Tapert ("Spartacus," Evil Dead, "Xena: Warrior Princess," "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.") and Producer Aaron Lam. "Airborne" will be written by Gideon Yago, an Emmy® and Peabody award-winning journalist and former MTV News and CBS News writer and correspondent. Yago has written drama pilots for both ABC and AMC and was a staff writer on the first season of HBO's "The Newsroom." Yago is represented by CAA.
"Even though we are using Vietnam and the early days of air cavalry as a backdrop, our hope is to bring the audience timeless stories about what makes a hero and how a group of young people fight to retain their humanity in the midst of a surreal and terrible conflict," said Gideon Yago.
"This project explores events that continue to be a relevant and engrossing point of conversation today," says Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director of Starz. "The experiences of these young men and their fight for survival are being brought to life by Gideon Yago and Rob Tapert in a way that has not been done."
"We are incredibly excited to be working on a project that holds such continued importance and relevance today. 'Airborne' will capture the human story of war -- a story of love, loss and sacrifice. It will deliver those elements through a lens that is both surreal and stylized, taking the television audience on a journey they have yet to experience in this genre," said Executive Producer, Rob Tapert.
Starz will retain all domestic and international multiplatform rights including television, home entertainment, and digital.
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of December 31, 2012, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 56 million subscribers, including 21 million at STARZ, and 35 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX®, air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.
