Starz will debut its first weekly talk show series, Fat Joe Talks, on October 4, featuring music artist/actor Method Man.

The weekly interview series will star the Grammy Award-nominated hip-hop artist Fat Joe as he interviews celebrities and newsmakers who drive the cultural zeitgeist, Starz said. Other stars expected to appear in the series include Mary J. Blige, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), T.I. and Babyface.

Embassy Row and SpringHill will produce the series for Starz. Fat Joe will serve as executive producer for the series along with LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Philip Byron, Jamal Henderson and Michael Davies. 

Starz has greenlit a new talk show featuring hip Hop artist/entrepreneur Fat Joe as well as a new original drama series starring Yellowjackets star Ella Purnell, the network announced Thursday during the Television Critics Association.

The Fat Joe Talks interview series will feature the actor and philanthropist as he provides access into the lives of today’s most influential personalities who drive the cultural zeitgeist, according to the network. The series will offer conversations around a wide range of newsworthy topics and will travel throughout the country to meet cultural icons in their environment.

Embassy Row will produce the series along with SpringHill, according to Starz. Executive producers for the show include Fat Joe, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Phillip Byron, Jamal Henderson and Michael Davies will serve as executive producers.  

“Fat Joe Talks is an exciting foray into talk, and who better than Joe – a legend in and of himself – to drive provocative conversations that tap into the zeitgeist and matter to our audience,” Starz president of original programming Kathryn Busby said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be working with Joe and our partners at SpringHill and Embassy Row to launch this incredible show, offering authentic,  backstage, rare access to these cultural icons.” 

Sweetpea, set to debut later this year, stars Purnell as a quiet wallflower who develops a vengeful and intoxicatingly liberating taste for murder, according to Starz. The six-part series also stars Nicole Lecky, Jon Pointing, Calam Lynch and Leah Harvey.

“We’re excited to partner with Ella Purnell and Sky Studios on such a fresh, boundary-breaking story,” Starz president of domestic networks Alison Hoffman said. “This darkly, comic tale of revenge is sure to thrill viewers, as Ella’s performance as a woman who finds her voice and claims her agency in ways that are devious and shocking.”

Wendy Williams has booked a Monday Hot Topics panel as well as hip-hop icons Fat Joe and Remy Ma to guest host the show in the week of Thanksgiving, the show said Monday.

The Hot Topics panel, which includes MTV’s The Challenge: Aftermath’s Devyn Simone, media personality Bevy Smith, Variety chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister and comedian Michael Yo, will take the stage on Monday, Nov. 22. Smith and Wagmeister hosted Fox’s now-defunct syndicated news magazine Page Six TV from 2016-18.

For the remaining two days of that holiday week, hip-hop duo Fat Joe and Remy Ma will take their turn on the purple couch. The pair have appeared on the show several times before with both coming on in 2017 when Remy Ma was feuding with rival rap queen Nicki Minaj.

Wendy Williams, who has hosted the eponymous daytime talker since 2009, has been out all season on extended medical leave after being diagnosed with a breakthrough case of COVID-19 in September. She later was checked in to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. After Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury, which produces the show, delayed its season-13 premiere for a month, Wendy Williams returned with guest hosts on Monday, Oct. 18.

In the week ended Oct. 31, the last week national ratings were available, Wendy Williams was guest-hosted by comedian Whitney Cummings. The show averaged a steady 0.8 in households and tied for fifth place in talk with CBS Media Ventures Rachael Ray and NBCUniversal’s Maury.

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Music Choice Play will feature the first artist-focused series, Chronicles, featuring Fat Joe to air September 30th at 8 p.m.

Looking back at the lives and careers of today's most popular artists, the 30-minutes series will air weekly. Shot in NYC, Fat Joe starts the series by taking viewers through his life in The Bronx, discussing his most awarding career moments as well.

The first season of Chronicles will highlight 50 Cent, Jason Derulo, B.o.B., Daddy Yankee, DJ Cassidy, Aloe Blacc, as well as Fat Joe.

For a sneak peak at the series, click here.