While Starz is known for getting first dibs on new movies before other rival pay channels, it provides plenty of original programming too. We list the best Starz TV shows you can stream right now, including hits like American Gods and the gory-but-fun Ash vs Evil Dead.
But note that several recent arrivals aren’t on the list, including Now Apocalypse, Sweetbitter, and The Rook. Instead of focusing on current shows, we stepped back and examined the entire original content playlist. Over time, we expect this list to change as original programming matures and newer entries replace older content.
Don’t have a subscription to Starz? Click the button below for a special offer, which gets you three months for just $4.99.
Best Starz TV shows:
Editor’s note: We will update this list of the best Starz TV shows frequently as new ones launch.
1. American Gods (ongoing, 2 seasons)
Shadow Moon gets out of prison early to manage his wife’s funeral. On the way home, Moon meets Mr. Wednesday who wants to hire him for a job. Moon initially refuses but eventually accepts the offer at Mr. Wednesday’s continued persistence. Moon quickly discovers that not only is Mr. Wednesday the Norse God Odin, but that other Old Gods still exist. Mr. Wednesday seeks to round up these Old Gods to battle against the New Gods, such as Drugs and Technology.
This series is based on the American Gods fantasy novel written by Neil Gaiman in 2001.
2. Ash vs Evil Dead (3 seasons)
Thirty years after returning from 1300 AD, Ash Williams leads a simple life: Drinking, working retail, and shmoozing women. Tucked away in his trailer is the Necronomicon, aka The Book of the Dead. In an attempt to impress a hooker while stoned on Marijuana, he reads from the book, releasing the Deadites once again. Ash reluctantly reattaches his beloved chainsaw to defeat these demons, destroy the book for good, and retire in Jacksonville, Florida. Joining his Deadite-dicing quest are Value Shop co-workers Pablo and Kelly.
Like the Evil Dead trilogy, Starz ended this three-season run open-ended.
3. Black Sails (4 seasons)
The setting is 1715: The Golden Age of Piracy and twenty years before the events in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. New Providence Island, once an English colony, is now controlled by pirates. The British Empire seeks to reclaim this island, fearing that the pesky pirates will disrupt the region’s maritime trade routes. But the British fleet must first contend with former Navy officer Captain Flint – now the most feared of all pirates – and his crew.
The first two seasons focus on treasure pulled from the Urca de Lima. The third and fourth seasons shift to the British-Pirate war.
4. Da Vinci’s Demons (3 seasons)
This is a fictional take on 25-year-old Leonardo da Vinci in Renaissance Florence. He’s searching for the Book of Leaves, a tome he believes could change history. Mystery shrouds this book’s origin: Does it originate from Atlantis? Was it written by the Nephilim? These questions lead him to a mysterious cult known as the Sons of Mithras who determine da Vinci can see and alter the future.
Meanwhile, da Vinci struggles with his uncanny intelligence and imagination along with local politics, an estranged father, and his mother’s history. Season 2 sees da Vinci defending Florence from Rome’s forces while Season 3 highlights a betrayal that hands his weapon blueprints over to the Turks.
5. Outlander (ongoing, 4 seasons)
This show is based on the Outlander novels written by Diana Gabaldon. Each season stems from a specific book, such as season 2 is an adaption of the second book, Dragonfly in Amber. The overall story focuses on British combat nurse Claire Randall who – while on her honeymoon in 1946 – travels back in time to 1743. She finds herself in 18th-century Scotland and held hostage by a group of rebel Highlanders. There she helps injured Highland warrior Jamie Fraser and becomes involved with the Jacobite risings.
The fifth season is currently being shown, and a sixth season is already planned.
6. Power (ongoing, 6 seasons)
James “Ghost” St. Patrick is a wealthy drug dealer in New York City, supplying the city’s elite. But that’s a life he no longer wants to live. Instead, he opens a nightclub in hopes of building a Fortune 500 business and shedding his illegal trade. However, for now, he must balance these two contrasting worlds while dealing with personal and marital issues. To make the breakaway even harder, business partner Tommy Egan doesn’t want to leave the drug business. Moreover, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Valdes – St. Patrick’s first love and ex-girlfriend – must investigate his drug empire, not knowing he’s the kingpin.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson serves as the show’s executive producer, composer, and stars as rival Kanan Stark. You can watch all six seasons now, and look for multiple spin-offs later in 2020 and 2021.
7. Spartacus (3 seasons, miniseries)
As the name implies, this is a fictional series based on the Thracian gladiator who led slave rebellions against the Romans from 73 to 70 BCE. The show focuses on the last of these rebellions — the third Servile War — which saw Italy and the surrounding territories directly threatened and incapable of suppressing the slave-gladiator revolt. Andy Whitfield, the actor playing Spartacus in the first season, died from cancer in 2011. Liam McIntyre assumed the role in the second and third seasons.
The miniseries Gods of the Arena, released between season one and two, serves as a six-episode prequel. It’s set five years before Sparticus arrives, focusing on the first gladiator representing Lentulus Batiatus.
8. The Missing (2 seasons)
You’ve seen a similar plot before. A British family of three takes a trip to northern France. The car breaks down and the threesome must find shelter in a nearby town. Later Tony Hughes (husband/father) manages to lose his five-year-old son Oliver in a crowded local bar. Eight years later, he’s divorced and still looking for the boy, though by now Oliver is 13.
The second season focuses on a different family whose daughter Alice reappeared but claimed she was held captive with another girl. Both seasons center on retired detective Julien Baptiste.
9. The Pillars of the Earth (Miniseries)
Based on the historical novel written by Welsh author Ken Follett, this miniseries takes place in a fictional 12th century town called Kingsbridge. War surrounds this little town as England and Normandy clash during The Anarchy. Tom Builder, a mason who lost his wife and child, comes to Kingsbridge seeking work. He’s directed to rebuild a local cathedral requiring land and resources granted by King Stephen.
Overall, the story spans roughly 32 years across eight episodes, with the glass windows finally installed in the cathedral at the end.
10. The White Queen (Miniseries)
This miniseries is based on the second, third, and fourth novels from The Cousins’ War novels written by Philippa Gregory. The setting spans from 1464 to 1485 during the War of the Roses, a period when the House of Lancaster (red rose) fought the House of York (white rose) for the throne of England. The series focuses on three women as they each seduce and manipulate men to gain power and the throne.
A sequel miniseries currently available on Starz, The White Princess, is based on the fifth Cousins’ War book. Another miniseries, The Spanish Princess, is based on the sixth book, The King’s Curse, and another related novel written by Gregory called The Constant Princess.
These are the best Starz TV shows currently available. We’ll be sure to update this post once new ones launch.