STARZ’S CHRISTINA DAVIS STEPS DOWN FROM PRESIDENT, ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING POSITION

Starz announced that Christina Davis is stepping down as president of original programming. “Christina Davis has decided to resign her position to pursue other opportunities,” a Starz spokesperson said in a statement. “We wish her the best and thank her for her contributions during the past year.” The news comes a little over a year after Davis first joined the premium cabler, taking over the role previously held by Carmi Zlotnik, who left Starz last year to pursue a production deal at Apple TV Plus. Davis’ hiring was first reported in March 2020, working in a virtual form during her entire tenure due to the pandemic. Karen Bailey, executive vice president of original programming, will lead the programming team while Starz searches for a permanent successor.

Davis previously worked at CBS Entertainment, where she served as executive vice president of series development from 2009 to 2017, developing the “CSI” and “NCIS” franchises, as well as “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Elementary,” “Madam Secretary,” “Scorpion,” “Bull,” “MacGyver” and “Code Black.” Davis came up in the CBS drama series department in 1997 as an assistant to then-drama head Nina Tassler. Since leaving CBS three years ago, she founded the TV production company Maniac Productions at ABC Studios with writer-producer Michael Seitzman.

Before Starz, Davis served as executive vice president, Drama Series Development, CBS Entertainment, which she held from 2009 – 2017. She co-founded the television production company Maniac Productions, with writer-producer Michael Seitzman in 2017, based at ABC Studios. During her brief tenure, Starz launched “Blindspotting” and has the upcoming “Gaslit,” “The Serpent Queen,” and “Black Mafia Family.”