Lionsgate TV’s Marcello Bellisario Expands Casting Duties to Starz in New Multiyear Deal

Marcello Bellisario has been promoted to senior vp talent and casting at Lionsgate, with a new long-term agreement that extends his purview to Starz.

The move follows Lionsgate expanding its TV slate, which includes Orange Is the New Black and Nashville, hit shows Bellisario oversaw as vp casting and talent, and merging with Starz, the premium cable channel.

Lionsgate’s slate now covers around 90 series on 40 U.S. networks, including Hulu’s Casual, Graves for Epix, OWN’s Greenleaf and the upcoming Netflix offering Dear White People. In his new role, Bellisario will oversee all scripted casting at Lionsgate, while working with Starz on their original series.

Having joined Lionsgate in 2014, Bellisario will continue reporting to Chris Selak, the studio’s executive vp and head of worldwide scripted TV, who also recently signed her own new long-term deal with Lionsgate and added international efforts to her responsibilities. And he’ll will work closely with Starz president of programming Carmi Zlotnik. Bellisario is currently casting upcoming Lionsgate series like Dear White People, White Famous for Showtime, Hulu’s Dimension 404 and Nightcap for Pop. With offices at Lionsgate’s Santa Monica headquarters and at Starz in Beverly Hills, Bellisario marks the premium cable channel’s first full-time hire in original programming.

“Since joining Lionsgate, Marcello’s incredible knowledge of actors and industry relationships has helped our TV group develop a slate of award-winning, critically acclaimed series that stand out from the crowd and help define the networks with whom we work,” Selak said in a statement.

“We are very excited to have Marcello as part of the team, helping to guide our casting partnerships and decisions. His eye for talent is incredible and we look forward to our creative collaboration on the Starz series,” Zlotnik added in his own statement.

Before Lionsgate, Bellisario worked at ABC and ABC Studios, where he oversaw casting for Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder and Grey’s Anatomy.

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