Starz will 'Crash' again

Jocko Simms and Dennis Hopper of 'Crash'

Credit: Lionsgate TV

Starz has ordered a second season of "Crash," the premium cable network's first original drama series.

Co-produced with Lionsgate, "Crash" will return in the fall with 13 new episodes.

Based on Paul Haggis' Oscar-winning film, "Crash" will continue to focus on the intersecting lives of Los Angeles residents, looking at people from a variety of races and socio-economic backgrounds.

The series will not, however, return in exactly the same form for its second set of episodes. Original showrunner Glen Mazzara will remain as a consulting producer, but Ira Steven Behr ("The 4400") will take over as executive producer and showrunner. James DeMonaco ("The Kill Point") and Todd Harthan ("The Kill Point") have been named executive producer and supervising producer, respectively.

"As our first major dramatic series on Starz, 'Crash' has been, and will be, an important part of our Originals strategy," says Stephan Shelanski, Starz' executive vice president for programming. "With Ira, James and Todd on board, we feel it's going to get stronger with each year and keep building on the success we established in the first year."

"Crash" was built as an ensemble drama and it remains to be seen which castmembers, if any, will return for a second season. While there have been reports that roughly half of the show's plotlines from the first season will be ongoing, the Starz press release conspicuously lacks any mention of any member of the show's actors.

"'Crash' is an important franchise for Lionsgate and we're delighted about the second season pickup," said Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate's president of television programming and production. "We've enjoyed a great partnership with Starz on the series and look forward to a new chapter of exciting and thought-provoking stories."

Haggis, an executive producer on the series, adds "I enjoyed my interaction with the creative team last season, and I am really excited about Ira's ideas for re-imagining the series in its second season. Lionsgate and Starz have been great partners; I appreciate their support and can't wait to see what happens next."

Starz is currently gearing up for its second original drama, a reimagining of "Spartacus."

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

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A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.