New Delhi, March 17^th 2021.

Lionsgate Play, the India-based over-the-top platform of global premium streaming service STARZ, has announced its second original series production, the college romance drama series “U-Special.”  With celebrated director Akarsh Khurana as showrunner, the series will star a talented ensemble cast led by Sumeet Vyas, Arjun Mathur, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rukshar Dhillon, Taaruk Raina, Gopal Datt and AhsaasChanna, among others.  The announcement comes on the heels of Lionsgate Play’s kickoff of its slate of highly curated, bold, edgy, original and exclusive content last month with the Indian adaptation of the hit Lionsgate U.S. series Casual, to be directed by Kunal Kohli, starring Lara Dutta and PrateikBabbar.

“U-Special” (working title) is set in the cheerful, quirky and vibrant world of a large university campus filled with young people from all over the country. We live with them, love with them, and share their highs and lows while they build, abandon, rebuild and eventually own their hopes, dreams and ideals.  We also watch them encounter one of the most corrupt, widespread and long running academic scams ever to hit the north of India.

“After receiving a great response to the announcement of the adaptation of Casual, we couldn’t wait to reveal the next series in our line-up of exciting and provocative original programming,” saidRohit Jain, Managing Director South Asia and Networks-Emerging Markets Asia.  “This series is designed to connect and resonate with young audiences who are our largest demographic.  The production starts this month, with the show coming to the comfort of screens soon.”

Lionsgate Play is committed to innovation in its content, technology, pricing and availability by making premium Hollywood and original content available in multiple Indian languages.  The app is available to download across a broad array of platforms and devices in India including Google Play, Apple TV+ and Amazon Firestick.