Showtime's new sci-fi series The Man Who fell to Earth isn’t a remake of the 1970s film starring David Bowie, but rather a next step in telling the story of an alien's experience on earth, executives from the series said Tuesday.

The series, which debuts April 14 on Showtime, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Faraday, an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution, according to the network. During Showtime’s Television Critics Association Winter press tour session, series executive producer Alex Kurtzman said The Man Who Fell to Earth series draws its inspiration from the 1976 Nicolas Roeg-directed film starring Bowie as well as the original Walter Tevis novel of the same name, but looks to reinterpret the themes and ideas unveiled in both projects.

"The thing that's wonderful about the questions that Mr. Tevis poses in his novel is that they are timeless," he said. "They are essential questions that humanity at every phase has to ask itself, which is how do we get to this point here, and what choices are we going to make now if we want to choose to survive? And we are obviously at a tremendous crossroads."

Ejiofor added that the perspective of the planet and humans garnered through the experiences of his alien character yields more questions than answers about the future.

“There's no real way of knowing fully what the future holds, and the perspective of this character was so interesting for that reason because he wasn't necessarily being prescriptive,” he said. “Where we are on Planet Earth, we are still on a planet that gives us so much, that is so positive for us. Where Faraday is from, that was taken for granted, and he sees some of the similarities in the human experience.”

The Man Who Fell To Earth also stars Naomie Harris,  Jimmi Simpson, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olaleye, Kate Mulgrew, Clarke Peters and Bill Nighy. ■ 

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Showtime has reached an exclusive output deal with recently created film, television and multimedia studio STX Entertainment, the network said Tuesday.

The deal, which begins this year, gives Showtime rights to air the studio’s theatrical releases through 2019, said network officials. The movies will air on Showtime Networks and its multiplex channels including The Movie Channel and Flix.

The first four features from STX Entertainment include projects from  Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit),  Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games),  Mark Johnson (Rain Man, Breaking Bad) and Jason Blum (Whiplash) and will star Matthew McConaughey, Julia Roberts Nicole Kidman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell and Jason Bateman among others.

““As we continue to enhance our theatrical portfolio, we are delighted to have this long-term partnership with STX and look forward to bringing their robust slate of studio-level films to our networks’ subscribers,” said Kent Sevener and Gary Garfinkel, Co-Heads of Content Acquisition, Showtime Networks Inc.

Starz has reached a deal with Monterey Media to air exclusively premiere the film Half of a Yellow Sun on the Starz In Black network Sept. 28, said the company.

Based on the award-winning novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the film stars Thandie Newton (The Pursuit Of Happiness) and Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog) as two sisters from a wealthy Nigerian family who chose different life paths, according to Starz. The film also stars Academy Award winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Along with Starz In Black, the film will also be available on the network’s associated Starz On Demand and Starz Play online services, said network officials.