Starz Acquires Eight Documentaries

Starz has acquired eight exclusive documentaries, including The Rape Of Recy Taylor, the network said Thursday.

The documentaries -- which will air on Starz, the Starz app and Starz on Demand -- include Taylor, which followed the rape of the 1944 gang rape of a black woman that helped lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the movements that followed; McLaren, which follows the life of 1960s Formula One motor racing superstar Bruce McLaren; Pecking Order, which chronicles a group of zealous Kiwi chicken breeders; and Sled Dogs, the first documentary to look at the sometimes gruesome reality of what happens at sled dog operations and the Iditarod once the tourists go home.

Other documentaries include Intent To Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction, which takes a look at the Armenian Genocide; What Haunts Us, which investigates six suicides of 49 boys that represented the 1979 class of Porter Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina; Stranger Fruit, which looks at the infamous Aug. 2014 shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo.; and Love & Bananas, which follows a team of elephant rescuers led by world renowned Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert to Thailand to rescue a 70-year old captive blind Asian elephant and bring her to freedom.

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“We are acquiring an eclectic slate of documentaries that not only strategically align with Starz Original series but also present engaging subjects, provocative conflicts and authentic storytelling,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz in a statement.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.