10 Best TV Shows On Starz, Ranked

Starz is one of the more underrated premium cable channels around, consistently producing solid original series with top-tier creative talent. Since launching 1994, the platform has built up an impressive library of original programming that has thrilled fans and grown into full-fledged franchises. Whether it's daring dramas, period piece adventure stories, or ribald comedies, there's something for everyone on Starz. 

Like other premium cable networks, Starz has additional creative possibilities unhampered by standard television content restrictions. That has led the premium network to create shows that push conventional boundaries while weaving engrossing tales on the television medium. With many of these shows available on home video or directly through the Starz app, now's the perfect time to get caught up on their greatest series. 

Here are the 10 best TV shows on Starz ranked, all worthy of turning into your next binge watch.

When it comes to all-star casts on Starz, it's hard to top the sheer starpower of the historical drama "Gaslit." Adapting the first season of the investigative podcast series "Slow Burn" by journalist Leon Neyfakh, the limited series explores the 1972 Watergate scandal. The show follows President Nixon's Attorney General John Mitchell (Sean Penn) and his loquacious wife Martha (Julia Roberts). Meanwhile, Nixon reelection campaign figure Gordon Liddy (Shea Wigham) organizes a group to steal documents from the Democratic National Committee.

"Gaslit" provides a fresh spin on the Watergate story, backed by a strong ensemble cast and sharp direction from Matt Ross. In contrast to other Watergate stories, Nixon only plays a background part in the series, more of an underlying presence whose influence is felt. Instead, the supporting players in the most notorious 20th century American political scandal are spotlighted, with Penn and Roberts both reliably good. Blending period piece drama with political thriller overtones, "Gaslit" is a star-studded tale that provides an alternate look at the incident.

After writing, producing, and starring in the 2018 indie dramedy "Blindspotting," Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs created a show of the same name in 2021. The series functions as a sequel to the movie's story, starting approximately six months later with Ashley Rose (Jasmine Cephas Jones) learning her partner Miles (Casal) has been arrested. The abrupt change in status quo forces Ashley and her young son to move in with Miles' mother Rainey (Helen Hunt). As Ashley navigates single motherhood and economic hardship, the Oakland neighborhood around her rapidly changes through steady gentrification.

Just as the movie "Blindspotting" is a harrowing and sobering portrait of privilege in the face of mindless gentrification, its sequel series spin-off continues those themes. With the added real estate of entire television seasons, the show really gets to double down on its messaging while making the comedic elements more noticeable. The spin-off also builds out the world from the movie as its continued love letter to Oakland and its residents. Running for two seasons, "Blindspotting" is perfectly accessible to viewers who have never seen the movie but especially enriching for those who have.

Co-creator Paul Rudd's "Party Down" was rejected by HBO before finding a home on Starz, premiering in 2009. The show is named for a Los Angeles-based catering company that frequently employs aspiring actors and screenwriters as they work towards their entertainment career dreams. The show follows disillusioned actor Henry Pollard (Adam Scott), who returns to his job as a caterer after his acting career fails to take off. Through their career aspirations and catering events around LA, the misfit group of caterers often brush shoulders with entertainment figures as they try to reach their own breakthroughs.

With its premise following a group of struggling actors while working side jobs in Hollywood, "Party Down" offers a funny and fresh perspective on the entertainment industry. This perspective and the comedy that springs from it is hilariously brought to life by its ensemble cast, with every main character in "Party Down" bringing a fun presence. Much of the comedic appeal comes from Scott's deadpan rapport with Ken Marino's uptight character, while Lizzy Caplan and Martin Starr are both superb too. The show returned for a revival season in 2023, with most of the main cast returning without missing a step.

One of the most overly swashbuckling shows in recent memory is the 2014 period piece pirate drama "Black Sails." A prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's seminal 1883 pirate novel "Treasure Island," the series is set in the early 18th century with pirates openly roaming the high seas. The story follows Captain James Flint (Toby Stephens), a disgraced English sailor who turns to piracy and leads his own crew. The show features Flint leading his crew to recover Spanish treasure and vie for control of the Caribbean as rival pirate crews and privateers surface.

With a sharp attention to detail, "Black Sails" immersively brings its historical action-adventure story to life, perfectly accessible to those unfamiliar with "Treasure Island." Stephens brings an intense magnetism to his performance as Flint, backed by a strong ensemble cast, including Luke Arnold as Long John Silver. There is plenty of action and salacious sensuality punctuating an seafaring epic tale depicting the Golden Age of Piracy. For anyone who has watched the best pirate movies and is looking for another swashbuckling epic, "Black Sails" delivers.

Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada star as sisters who return together to Los Angeles in the 2018 dramedy "Vida." Both sisters arrive at their hometown following the death of their mother, with Barrera playing younger sister Lyn Hernandez and Prada playing her older sibling Emma. The siblings learn that they've inherited their mother's bar, along with their mom's surprise spouse Eddy Martínez (Ser Anzoategui). Despite possessing polemically different personalities, the two sisters reconcile as they learn about the secret life and identity their mother kept from them.

While featuring a broadly familiar premise, there is a genuine earnestness to "Vida" that elevates it above other family dramedy fare. A lot of that comes down to the show's strong writing but also the standout performances from Barrera and Prada. In particular, Prada taking Emma from a business-oriented, overly pragmatic individual to someone who allows herself to become vulnerable and grieve and grow forms the show's major emotional arc. A beautiful celebration of sisterhood and community, "Vida" finds a relatable complexity amid its broader themes and portrait of a changing family and neighborhood.

Katori Hall adapted her stage play into the 2020 drama series "P-Valley," following a strip club in Mississippi. Featuring a staff of primarily Black women led by non-binary owner Uncle Clifford Sayles (Nicco Annan), the establishment struggles to make ends meet. At the forefront of the ensemble is Mercedes Woodbine (Brandee Evans), a longtime dancer who dreams of leaving the business to open her own dance exercise studio. The show focuses on other individuals who work at and frequent the club, each with their own struggles and aspirations as they try to get by.

Simply put, "P-Valley" is one of the best shows that people aren't watching and far deserving of more attention. There is an underlying authenticity to the story and its characters that fuels the drama at its emotional core. This also informs the show's themes of economic disparity and discrimination based on race and queer identity, which especially pack a punch today. A southern-fried character-driven drama deep in the Mississippi Delta, "P-Valley" provides a searing perspective on the world.

The historical saga of Thracian gladiator Spartacus serves as the inspiration for the historical epic "Spartacus," which premiered in 2010. The show initially starred Andy Whitfield as the titular warrior before his untimely death in 2011, with the role recast with Liam McIntyre. The unnamed Thracian gains his iconic nickname after being sentenced to slavery following a failed mutiny against the Roman Empire. After learning the true circumstances behind his wife's death, Spartacus vows to make Rome pay, liberating slaves in an armed uprising against the empire.

"Spartacus" is one of the original series that helped put Starz on the map, with record-breaking viewership for the premium cable network. The show brought all the sex and violence audiences came to expect, with the story killing off fan-favorite gladiators constantly to underscore its stakes. The show blossomed into an entire franchise, including various forms of merchandising and the equally gory and steamy sequel series "Spartacus: House of Ashur" in 2025. A sweeping saga that acutely understood the appeal of its premise, "Spartacus" was a consistently audience-pleasing swords-and-sandals epic.

Another show that has expanded into a full-on franchise for Starz is the crime drama "Power," which premiered in 2014. The original series stars Omari Hardwick (above right) as James St. Patrick, a smart and sophisticated drug dealer who goes by the alias Ghost. As Ghost tries to turn his business interests legitimate, including a popular nightclub, his criminal connections keep dragging him back into an illicit and violent life. These efforts, including contending with the law and rival crooks, takes a considerable toll on Ghost's personal life as the series continues.

"Power" is one of those shows that steadily improves each season as it builds an expansive crime saga, full of betrayal and shocking twists. The more the story leans into Ghost's messy personal life, the more captivating it becomes, while Hardwick keeps playing things as cool as ice. The series went on to spawn three spin-offs, sharing the moniker "Power Book," with several more in various stages of development. Breathing fresh energy into a familiar genre, "Power" and its growing line of spin-offs weaves a compelling crime drama with a personal edge.

Filmmaker Sam Raimi's fan-favorite "Evil Dead" horror franchise continued with the 2015 television series "Ash vs Evil Dead." The show focuses on returning protagonist Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) after he accidentally unleashes the supernatural terror of the unholy Necronomicon. Wielding the chainsaw once again, Ash leaps back into action with a new set of allies to battle the Deadites as they expand their sinister activity around the world. The series also shines a light on Ash's backstory and family life as well as the history behind the Necronomicon and those associated with it.

Fitting in seamlessly with the "Evil Dead" movies and TV order, "Ash vs Evil Dead" doesn't miss a beat in translation the horror franchise to television. Tonally, the game strikes the delicate balance between the horror and comedy like "Evil Dead II" and "Army of Darkness" while expanding the franchise's lore. The show provides Ash with some of his funniest moments in the "Evil Dead" franchise, leaning into Bruce Campbell's considerable charm. One of the best horror shows of all time and a worthy continuation of its cinematic source material, "Ash vs Evil Dead" is a highlight in the Starz library.

After developing the 2004 reimagining of "Battlestar Galactica," prolific producer and screenwriter Ronald D. Moore shifted his creative attention to fantasy with "Outlander." Premiering in 2014, the series adapts Diana Gabaldon's novel series of the same name, following time-displaced 20th century nurse Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe). While examining a stone circle in Scotland in 1945, Claire is transported to 1743 and is taken in by highlanders in the midst of their rebellion against the British. Claire falls in love with highlander Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), though violence follows the star-crossed couple even after they leave Scotland.

Running for eight seasons, "Outlander" still understands the assignment, bringing period piece melodrama with plenty of action and romance. The adaptation doesn't avoid the more brutal and harrowing narrative points of its source material, but framed in a way that isn't overly off-putting for the audience. The series has spawned the prequel series "Outlander: Blood of My Blood," following the parents of the original show's protagonists. Highlighting the bold and mature storytelling Starz has become known for with a love story that spans centuries, "Outlander" is the best Starz original series to date.