Starz and Starz Encore 7-Day Free Preview
Starz and Starz Encore is now live for all Sling TV subscribers for a one week free preview, just in time for the September 10 premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But there is so much more great programming we wanted to give you the Cliff’s Notes overview of some of the highlights to help you make the most of your seven free days. All the shows below are available on demand in their entirety.
POWER
Set in a hyper-realistic New York City, the series follows the exploits of James St. Patrick, “Ghost” to his friends, a nightclub owner and drug kingpin struggling to use the former business to get him out of the latter without angering his influential clients, his investors, or his loyal sidekick who keeps the drug business humming. Now nearing the end of its third season, things are more complex and perilous for Ghost than ever; or as a wise soul in a comments section once wrote, “Power makes Empire look like a comedy.” (Airs at 9pm ET Sundays; all episodes available on-demand.)
ASH VS EVIL DEAD
Horror aficionados’ prayers were answered when Bruce Campbell agreed to reprise his role as Ash, the wisecracking zombie-slayer with a chainsaw for a hand, in Starz’ series picking up where Sam Raimi’s cult-classic films Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness left off; now Campbell is back for a second season, 35 years after he originated the role, with none other than Six Million Dollar Man and The Fall Guy star Lee Majors joining the party as Ash’s father. (Season 2 premieres Sunday, Oct 2.)
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
Executive producer Steven Soderbergh brought his 2009 film of the same name to the small screen with a deeper look into Christine Reade’s (Riley Keough) balancing act between being a law student in Chicago, an intern at one of the city’s top firms, and a high-priced transactional girlfriend to rich and powerful men. As the roles begins to blend together, she struggles to maintain control of her own life. (All episodes available on-demand.)
OUTLANDER
Based on Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling historical fiction series, Outlander follows the trials and titillations of an English WWII Army Nurse (Caitroina Balfe) wrenched from 1940’s Scotland into the wilds of 1740’s Scotland, leaving behind bereft new husband Frank (Tobias Menzies), only to be thrust into the (large, muscled) arms of young Highland Warrior, Jamie Fraser, Lord Broch Turach (Sam Heughan). But all is not happily ever after in the Highlands. Only Claire knows that a coming war, the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, will wipe out Highland culture, and possibly both the men she loves along with it. Can Claire change the past in order to save the future? A must-watch series for fans of broadswords, backsides, and breathtaking scenery. (Season 3 premieres April 1, 2017; all episodes available on-demand.)
BLACK SAILS
Imagine if Michael Bay played a hand in Pirates of The Caribbean and Johnny Depp’s finger-wiggling, eye-squinting Capt. Jack Sparrow played more into the ruthless and savage reputation that proceeds pirates – that’s just the tip of what you can expect in this prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island. Capt. Flint, who has a reputation to uphold in the West Indies, sails the seas fighting for survival of New Providence Island – an island the British and Spanish forces are looking to take that’s riddled with pirates, prostitutes and thieves – and searching for the ultimate treasure to ensure his people’s survival. (Season 4 premieres January 20, 2017; all episodes available on-demand.)
THE WHITE QUEEN
This show could be accurately described as a mashup between Romeo and Juliet and parts of Game of Thrones: The fight for the throne between two families, House of York and House of Lancaster, rages on in England 1464. Edward IV of House of York is crowned king with the help of Lord Warwick aka “The Kingmaker”, who has bigger plans to control the throne. Things get really tense when King Edward falls in love with House of Lancaster commoner Elizabeth Woodville, causing a violent struggle for the crown to ensue. While a second season of The White Queen is not happening, per se, a sequel show The White Princess is on its way. (All episodes available on-demand.)
BLUNT TALK
In this half-hour comedy, Sir Patrick Stewart stars as Walter Blunt, a British news personality that settles in America to stake his claim to the throne of American cable news. On his nightly show, he graces audiences with his wisdom and advice on how to live while off-screen he struggles to keep his life from falling to pieces. While he always has the best intentions at heart, he is constantly plagued by his dysfunctional news staff, numerous ex-wives and children, and his main support-system: his best friend Harry, who is a medium-functioning alcoholic manservant. (Season 2 premieres October 2; all episodes on-demand.)
PARTY DOWN
It only ran for two ten-episode seasons and it wrapped back in 2010, but Rob Thomas’ Party Down remains one of our favorite comedies of the past ten years, with an acidic wit, a stacked cast, and a foolproof premise: a mismatched group of aspiring creatives – a screenwriter, a comic, a washed-up actress, a hunky wannabe actor, an entrepreneur, and an actor who threw it all away – pay the bills by working as cater-waiters, serving the exact people they’re trying to be. Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, and Martin Starr – all of whom have gone on to bigger things – are the main cast, fighting humiliation at every turn as they try in vain to get a foot in the door and live the life they can only watch from behind the chafing dishes. Can’t recommend this one highly enough. (All episodes available on-demand.)
And here’s just a small sample of top movies now available:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The 5th Wave
Inside Out
Ant-Man
Ratatouille
The Good Dinosaur
The Beach
The Perfect Guy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Tomorrowland
Pixels
Truth
Side Effects
The Night Before
22 Jump Street