Starz Picks Up “Shining Vale” Horror Comedy Series Starring Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear and Mira Sorvino

STARZ today announced it has given an eight-episode series order for the horror-comedy “Shining Vale,” starring Golden Globe(R) nominee Courteney Cox (“Friends,” “Cougar Town“), Academy Award(R) nominee, and Emmy Award(R) winner Greg Kinnear, Oscar(R) winner Mira Sorvino (“Hollywood,” “The Expecting“), Merrin Dungey (“Big Little Lies,” “The Resident“), Gus Birney (“Dickinson“) and Dylan Gage (“PEN15“). Dearbhla Walsh (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Traitors“) directed and executive produced the pilot episode. The chilling half-hour comedy from Jeff Astrof (“Trial & Error,” “Ground Floor,”) and Sharon Horgan (“Divorce,” “Catastrophe“) is the newest title from STARZ, which recently launched the #TakeTheLead initiative deepening the network’s existing commitment to narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.

“‘Shining Vale‘ is a smart, chilling, and funny series that tells the story of a family in turmoil who is suddenly living with a paranormal who helps Courteney Cox’s character get her groove back as she starts to question her own sanity,” said Christina Davis, STARZ President of Original Programming. “This group of talented actors, executive producers, and director blends comedy and horror brilliantly throughout this series which exemplifies the network’s commitment to improving female representation on and off the screen.”

“Shining Vale” is a horror-comedy about a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place. But no one seems to notice except for Pat, who’s convinced she’s either depressed or possessed – turns out, the symptoms are exactly the same. Patricia “Pat” Phelps (Cox) is a former “wild child” who rose to fame by writing a raunchy, drug-and-alcohol-soaked women’s empowerment novel (a.k.a. lady porn). Fast forward 17 years later, Pat is clean and sober but totally unfulfilled. She still hasn’t written her second novel, she can’t remember the last time she had sex with her husband (Kinnear), and her teenage kids are at that stage where they want you dead. She was a faithful wife until her one slip-up: she had a torrid affair with the hot, young handyman who came over to fix the sink while Terry was at work. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, she and Terry cash in all their savings and move the family move from the “crazy” of the city to a large, old house in the suburbs that has a storied past of its own. Everyone has their demons, but for Pat Phelps, they may be real.

Cox plays the lead role of Patricia “Pat” Phelps, with Kinnear playing her ever-optimistic husband, Terry Phelps, whose patience and self-control will be tested like never before. Sorvino plays Rosemary, who is either Pat’s alter ego, a split personality, her id, her muse, or a demon trying to possess her. Dungey plays Kam, Pat’s oldest friend, and book editor. Gus Birney and Dylan Gage also star as Pat and Terry’s teenage kids, Gaynor and Jake.

“Shining Vale” is executive produced by Jeff Astrof from Other Shoe Productions, Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford (“Motherland,” “This Way Up,”) from Merman, Aaron Kaplan (“The Chi,” “The Neighborhood“) and Dana Honor (“A Million Little Things,” “The Unicorn“) from Kapital Entertainment. Courteney Cox is the producer. Astrof wrote the pilot teleplay, from a story by Horgan & Astrof. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Lionsgate Television in association with Other Shoe Productions, Merman and Kapital Entertainment.

Senior Vice President of Original Programming Juan Alfonso is the executive overseeing “Shining Vale” on behalf of STARZ.

“Shining Vale” will air on STARZ in the U.S. and Canada and on its international streaming platform Starzplay across Europe, Latin America, and Japan.