‘P-Valley’ Renewed for Third Season at Starz

Starz is going back to the valley.

The Lionsgate-backed premium cable network has handed out a third-season renewal for its critically praised drama P-Valley.

The renewal for the series from creator/showrunner Katori Hall arrives more than two months after the sophomore season wrapped its 10-episode run. According to the cabler, season two averaged nearly 10.3 million viewers per episode when combining domestic linear, VOD and streaming. That’s up an impressive 23 percent from its eight-episode freshman order, making P-Valley the most-watched U.S. series on Starz.

“P-Valley continues to keep viewers on the edge of their seats as it captures the nuances of the Mississippi Delta with an unprecedented level of humanity and artistry,” said Kathryn Busby, president of original programming at Starz. “This layered drama gets beyond the glitz through authentic and complex characters that have captured the hearts of critics and audiences alike. We cannot wait to see what Katori has in store for us in season three.”

Based on her play Pussy Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Hall (The Hot Wing King) created the drama and exec produces alongside Dante Di Loreto (Glee). The series hails from Lionsgate Television, where Hall has been based with an overall deal since the first season of P-Valley helped solidify her as one on television’s hottest new voices.

“I am blessed beyond measure for this opportunity to write the next chapter of P-Valley. With its complex, dynamic, and beautifully flawed characters, this show is a love letter to marginalized communities in the American South who rarely see themselves reflected on screen, and it brings me immense joy to know that it has been embraced by folx worldwide. We wouldn’t be getting back up on that pony, without our fiercely devoted Pynk Posse. Y’all are our fire,” Hall said. “And special thanks to the fuel: everyone who laid hands on this show. From the writers and producers to the cast to the crew to the executives, this show is made with great love, grit and glitter. It’s gonna take us a Mississippi minute before we’re back on your screens again, but best believe it’ll be well worth the wait.”

Season two of P-Valley featured an episode that explored abortion rights that Hall, in a guest column for THR, said was inspired by the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, whose real-life legal battles waged with the state of Mississippi set the stage for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In his review, THR chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg said season two “[c]leverly tackles recent events with its own uniquely pungent voice.” Season one has a rare 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the sophomore frame sits at a still respectable 90 percent.

A return date for the 10-episode third season has not yet been determined. Nicco Annan, Elarica Johnson, Brandee Evans, Shannon Thornton and J. Alphonse Nicholson star.

At Starz, P-Valley is part of a roster of scripted originals that also includes Black Mafia Family, the Power universe, Blindspotting, Dangerous Liaisons, Outlander, Hightown, Run the World, Shining Vale, Step Up and the Party Down revival.