Starz Highlights Spartacus: Blood and Sand

LOS ANGELES: Starz Media is co-sponsoring the MIPCOM opening-night reception to highlight its new original drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand with a Roman-themed gala at the Hotel Majestic.

The 13×1-hour series is from executive producers Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Joshua Donen and Steven S. DeKnight. Andy Whitfield, who plays the reluctant hero title character, leads an international cast that also includes Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Erin Cummings, Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett and Nick E. Tarabay.

The company is also presenting Bollywood Hero, a three-part mini-series. The musical comedy stars Chris Kattan, playing an exaggerated version of himself, as he accepts a starring role in a Bollywood musical. In addition to Kattan, the cast includes Neha Dhupia, Pooja Kumar, Julian Sands, Ali Fazal, Rachna Shah, Maya Rudolph, David Alan Grier and Jennifer Coolidge, with a special appearance by Keanu Reeves.

Further offerings from Starz include Party Down, about a sextet of Los Angeles cater-waiters; Head Case, a comedy about shrink with a who’s-who client list from the world of entertainment; Wow! Wow! Wubbzy, an animated series that airs on Nick Jr.; and Z-Rock, a comedy about a hard-partying rock band who have a day job as a kids’ performance group. Also from Starz comes The Whitest Kids U Know, a sketch-comedy shows.

In the way of documentaries, Sex and the Cinema looks at how sexually charged films reflect our own sexual liberation, The Face is Familiar spotlights Hollywood’s character actors and Zombiemania focuses on the zombie craze around the world. Meanwhile, Unforgettably Evil looks at villains in movies, while Comics on Screen focuses on the work of comedians.