‘Vida’ forever! All the Starz shows you never knew you needed

Pour yourself a tall glass of something sassy because this is a goddamn celebration – Vida has been renewed for a third season at Starz and we couldn’t be happier. The show’s female-led story packed full of compelling LGBTQI Latinx characters is one of the most refreshing and unique out there.

Vida’s a show we never knew we needed, but now that it’s here we’re absolutely hooked. That seems to be something Starz does with much of its output, delivering singular shows over which we had no idea we’d become so obsessed. Here’s our ranking of nine of the other best Starz shows that we never knew we needed.

9. Power (2014 – )

Who knew that we’d get so damn invested in a show with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in a lead role? But here we are and Fiddy has legitimately done right by himself in the role. Sure it’s overall exploration of power is a little on the nose considering the title and all, but the show is also captivating for showing the struggles between maintaining wealth and success and protecting your family from the fallout.

8. Howards End (2017)

With some fiercely astonishing performances from Hayley Atwell (Ant-Man) and Philippa Coulthard (Annabelle: Creation) at the heart of the story, this four part miniseries adaptation of E.M. Forster’s classic novel is far more witty, exciting, and even modern than we ever thought a period drama could be.

7. American Gods (2017 – )

Based on Neil Gaiman’s equally as adventurous and surreal story, Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and Michael Green’s (Logan) adaptation is strange, thrilling, and relentlessly batshit. The cherry on top of this insanity sundae is some superb performances from Ian McShane (Deadwood), Ricky Whittle (The 100), and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) – who we’re just devastated isn’t returning to her role as Media for S2.

6. Black Sails (2014 – 2017)

We honestly thought that getting over the age of twelve and witnessing Johnny Depp repeatedly chewing the ass out of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for pieces of eight would be enough to put us off pirates for life. But then we saw Black Sails and all we wanted to do was slurp rum off the abs of Captain Charles (Zach McGowan) and buy a fine vessel of a ship for ourselves. Plus, the show gave the pirate genre a much needed fresh, gritty lease on life.

5. Counterpart (2017 – 2019)

J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer) starred in a sci-fi thriller about a man who discovers a gateway to a parallel universe is definitely not something we ever knew we needed – but hot damn, we did! Providing an odd but satisfying blend of existential horror, relationship drama, hardcore science fiction, and general spy thrills, the show was a unique gem.

4. Ash vs The Evil Dead (2015 – 2018)

Yes, it may have since been cancelled and yes, the end of the show has also meant the beloved Bruce Campbell has put down his boom stick for good and called time on playing his beloved Evil Dead character, but this little doozy was a game changer. Ash vs The Evil Dead isn’t perfect, but it does feature preposterous amounts of gore, lashings of playful horror, and a pulpy vibe that many other horror shows have since notably borrowed from.

3. The Girlfriend Experience (2016 – )

There have been many shows that have explored the experiences of being a female sex worker, but they usually depict the profession as being some kind of sexy, titillating experience for everyone involved. The Girlfriend Experience instead treats sex work as a job and not as a hot hobby, opening the story up to a compelling interrogation of power structures, money, and sexuality with insightful aplomb.

2. Outlander (2014 – )

Just when you think you know Outlander, it flips the script and does something completely unexpected. The time-hopping show has delved into the supernatural, explored political intrigue, depicted some of the most thoughtful depictions of sexual assault ever seen on screen, and even dabbled with being a boisterous farce.

Starring Caitriona Balfe (Money Monster) and Sam Heughan (Young Alexander the Great) as a couple stretching a romance across several time periods, the show also boasts a swoonworthy love story.

1. Party Down (2009 – 2010)

It’s been almost ten years since this comedic masterpiece debuted and quite frankly, we’re not sure there have been many comedy shows to have topped it since it was stupidly cancelled a year later.

Boasting a ludicrously talented cast including Adam Scott (Step Brothers), Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield), Ken Marino (Wanderlust), Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars), and Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks), the show delivers a low-key dark comedy about a workforce of failed actors stuck working for a catering firm. To this day, it remains one of the sharpest comedies ever seen on TV.