Starz Talks ‘Outlander’ Season 5 Renewal, ‘John Wick’ TV Series And More

Starz held its Television Critics Associate winter panel on Friday, where it announced the latest news about its current shows, like “Outlander” and “American Gods,” and its upcoming shows, including “Sweetbitter” and “Howards End.”

Here are all the details about what the premium cable network has planned for this year.

“John Wick” Spin-Off TV Series

The Keanu Reeves franchise is heading to Starz with a spin-off series, “The Continental,” which he’s set to executive produce. While he won’t be starring in it, the network revealed that viewers can expect to see him in the series at some point. The show will be in the same universe as the movies and will exist side-by-side. Set in a hyper-real version of Los Angeles, the series will focus on the Continental Hotel and those who come in and out of it.

“Outlander” Season 5 And 6 Renewal Status

The fan-favorite series just finished its third season in December and was picked up for a fourth one way back in 2016, but viewers are already wondering about fifth and sixth seasons. This is something that they shouldn’t be too concerned about, though, apparently, according to Starz president Chris Albrecht.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” he said about the show getting renewed for Seasons 5 and 6.

He joked that the biggest problem surrounding the show isn’t really how many seasons it will be renewed for, but making sure its stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan aren’t killed along the way from working so much.

That said, he knows they can do it because they are terrific and “deserve all the accolades they have had.” With 10 books to the series, Starz is currently having “very productive discussions” with its Sony partners about the future of the show.

Premiere Dates For Three New Shows

The limited series “Howards End” debuts April 8, while the half-hour drama about Mexican-American sisters in East L.A. “Vida” debuts May 6. This is the same day that the TV adaptation of the best-selling novel “Sweetbitter” is also set to premiere on the network.

“Counterpart” TV Series Details

Starz’s new thriller series focuses on Howard Silk (J.K. Simmons) as he realizes that the agency he’d been working for has been guarding a secret parallel universe. Viewers will watch as Howard and his “counterpart” on the other side navigate the discovery.

Executive Producer Justin Marks said that he’s heard comparisons between this show and “Fringe” but wants prospective viewers to know that “Fringe” was more sci-fi and “Counterpart” is more spy-thriller with hints of sci-fi.

“American Gods” Season 2 News

Albrecht explained that Gillian Anderson’s departure “was not a surprise” because she “seems to be leaving everything,” but that they are “very committed to the show” and are hoping for a lot more American Gods to show up.

That said, Anderson leaving the show is only one of the things the network needs to handle as they work on Season 2. They need to deal with who’s running the show, too.

“Neil Gaiman will be taking more of a traditional role, and we’re looking for a partner for him to make sure the television show gets the appropriate attention,” Albrecht said of the man who wrote the book the show is based on.

The Starz president also mentioned that Kristin Chenoweth, who played Easter on the series, will be back in some way.