Starz Finally Puts Its Two Halves Together in 'Fightland'
Francis Lovehall as Alec Munroe in 'A Thousand Blows' Season 1
Hulu
Of all the companies most harmed by the streaming revolution, independent cable networks, which had only recently come into their own in the late aughts, have suffered the most catastrophic losses. However, one cable network, Starz, isn't going down without a fight. For one thing, it has managed to survive this far, which has surprised industry watchers. Furthermore, over the last decade, the network has come to realize that middle-class Black audiences are massively underserved in the streaming revolution. It's now combining that with its original aim to attract female viewers with British softcore shows to create the series Fightland.
(Netflix has plenty of Spanish and Korean programming, but little in the way of high-end Black programming, something that's expected to change with its foray into the African continent.)
Other than FX (whose CEO, John Langraf, freely admits would probably have folded by now had it not been part of the Fox package deal Disney gobbled up in 2019), the leading cable channels that were known for high-end fare (AMC, TNT, Sundance, Epix, and Starz) have all found themselves with no viewers on linear and few sign ups on streaming. The situation has gotten so bad at Starz, its parent company, Lionsgate, spun the network off in a desperate gamble to survive, despite its massive ongoing Power franchise from Curtis Jackson (also known as 50 Cent), which helped the network assemble a steady audience from minority viewers.
It only took until 2025 for the network to realize that it could combine its new franchise concept and its older model, and have Jackson produce a Black British show that drew from both halves of its viewership simultaneously, with a contemporary show set in the world of British boxing.
Here's the series' current logline:
Fightland follows a disgraced, formerly incarcerated boxing champion who returns to London to seek vengeance against the crime family he thinks betrayed him. With edge-of-seat action and populated by dangerous characters, this is a world of money and power never seen before.
The series marks another step in the newly independent network’s commitment to building an owned-IP-driven slate of premium originals for underrepresented audiences, delivering a gripping story of redemption, betrayal, and brutal ambition in and out of the ring.
No cast has been announced yet, but that is expected in due course as the start of filming draws closer.
However, Starz has already assembled the behind-the-scenes team of Damione Macedon and Raphael Jackson Jr., known for BMF and Genius MLK/X as well as the ongoing Power franchise. The two have signed on to pen the eight-episode series and act as showrunners. They will be joined in the writer's room by Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith. All four writers also executive produce alongside Jackson for G-Unit Film & Television, and Francis Hopkinson & Kate Leadbetter for Expanded Media.
“Fightland marks my first internationally produced show through my G-Unit Film & Television. I am excited to bring that global energy to the screen,” said Jackson as part of the series' announcement. “I anticipate this to be more successful than anything I’ve done before—boxing’s raw stakes are gonna take it to another level.”
Production of Fightland's first season is slated to begin in London in the fall of 2025. The series is expected to debut on Starz in 2026.
