Starz Gave Up on This Twisty Drama Series, But Now It’s No. 1 on Netflix

Earlier this year, one of Starz’s planned summer hits instead moved to Netflix.

Drama series The Hunting Wives, based on May Cobb’s 2021 best-selling novel of the same name, was originally set to release on television but instead went straight to streaming. It seems Starz made a mistake, as The Hunting Wives is a runaway hit for the service and currently sits at #1 on the Netflix charts.

The move occurred after the series’ production studio, Lionsgate Television, ended its working relationship with Starz. The series was ordered by Starz two years ago and was filmed in spring 2024 but did not release until just a few weeks ago on July 21.

In the twisty thriller, Brittany Snow (Gossip Girl, The Night Agent) plays Sophie O’Neal, an East Coast resident who makes a big move to East Texas. She meets Margo Banks (Malin Akerman from Billions), the town’s wealthy it-girl, and is quickly drawn into her social circle. Eventually, the group gets caught up in various plots involving seduction and murder.

Chrissy Metz, Katie Lowes, Jaime Ray Newman, George Ferrier, Dermot Mulroney, Karen Rodriguez, Evan Jonigkeit, Hunter Emery, and Michael Aaron Milligan round out the rest of the cast.

Reviews have been positive for the series, as it currently sits at an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics’ consensus reads, “Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman are diabolically fun to watch in The Hunting Wives, a risqué soap that turns bad behavior into highly bingeable fun.”

The Hunting Wives is streaming now on Netflix.