STARZ has green-lit the drama series “The Venery of Samantha Bird.” Katherine Langford (“Knives Out,” “13 Reasons Why” ) will lead the eight-episode drama in the title role of Samantha.
The series is created by Anna Moriarty, who also serves as executive producer. Salvatore Stabile (“Waco”) is showrunner and executive producer. Jessica Rhoades (“Station Eleven,” “Sharp Objects”) executive produces through her Pacesetter Productions shingle, with Rachel Polan serving as co-executive producer. Jessica Yu (“Fosse/Verdon,” “Billions”) is consulting producer.
“’The Venery of Samantha Bird’ is the perfect complement to our slate of provocative, immersive storytelling that leans into the female gaze,” said Kathryn Busby, President of Original Programming, STARZ. “Katherine is an incredible talent who will bring this modern romance of addictive love to life.”
Visiting family in New England, Samantha Bird reconnects with her childhood sweetheart and falls headlong into a seemingly perfect storybook romance. But underneath their fever dream lurks a more unsettling interpretation of this affair. “The Venery of Samantha Bird” is a haunting portrayal of addictive love and the repercussions that a relationship has on the families in a small New England town.
Australian actress Katherine Langford garnered global recognition and critical acclaim as ‘Hannah Baker’ in Netflix’s original series “13 Reasons Why,” which became a worldwide phenomenon shortly after its March 2017 release. Following her outstanding breakout performance, Langford was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Drama. That same year, she received the prestigious Screen Australia Breakthrough Award from Australians in Film. In 2019, she was part of the critically acclaimed Lionsgate mystery thriller “Knives Out,” which won a Hollywood Critics Association Award for Best Cast. Her other film credits also include roles in 20th Century Fox’s Love, Simon, and Paramount Pictures’ Spontaneous, for which she received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination. She also returned to Netflix in July 2020, as the lead in “Cursed,” a fresh re-imagination of the familiar King Arthur and the Sword legend. Langford currently stars in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) six-part Australian crime drama, “Savage River.” Langford’s full bio can be found here.
Karen Bailey, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, is the executive overseeing “The Venery of Samantha Bird” for STARZ, and Max Elins is overseeing for Lionsgate. The series is produced by Lionsgate Television and Paramount Television Studios.