Beginning January 2023, cable network Epix will be rebranding as MGM+, following Amazon's $8.5 billion acquisition of Epix's parent company MGM earlier this year. Several new shows, as well as the upcoming third season of Epix's Forest Whitaker-led drama series Godfather of Harlem, will kick off the network's rebranding. Epix already faced a change in 2017 when MGM bought out Viacom and Lionsgate, but this rebranding will alter the premium cable service in entirely new ways.
Epix president Michael Wright, who will now serve as the head of MGM+, spoke about the switchover, saying, "We have felt for some time that this is the best service that many people have never heard of. Other than individual shows, the service has never been marketed. Now you have this incredibly powerful, loud name that means something to people. You could spend five years and $100 million trying to launch a new brand, and you wouldn’t have the brand equity that you get with MGM. It’s really something of a gift.”
Among the new shows set to premiere on Epix+ are Hotel Cocaine and Belgravia: The Next Chapter. Hotel Cocaine hails from Godfather of Harlem executive producer Chris Brancato and will depict the Miami drug trade in the 1970s and early 80s. Belgravia: The Next Chapter is a direct sequel to Epix's miniseries Belgravia, which followed the nouveau riche in 19th century London. Other content coming to MGM+ includes an unscripted series exploring the real-life "Amityville Horror" murders, a docuseries detailing the history of the San Francisco music scene in the late '60s, currently titled San Francisco Sounds, and a true-crime docuseries titled Murph the Surf. MGM+ is also set to air new seasons of already established Epix shows, including From, Billy the Kid, and Rogue Heroes.
MGM+ will cost $5.99 monthly. Wright spoke about the low price, saying, “We’re less expensive than anybody else, and that was by design. We thought, Okay, we’re the upstarts. We’re the underdogs. So, we’re going to make it undeniable, we’re going to offer you a product that is truly premium, super high quality and offer it at a price that you almost should sample it at that price. And there’s no intention today to raise the price.”
Wright also spoke about who MGM+ is looking to appeal to, adding, “There’s a certain addressable market of viewers out there that don’t go to the movies as much as they used to. They’re not as drawn to the big superhero movies or the big spectacle IP. They like that sophisticated, cinematic, adult contemporary storytelling. And that’s what we focus on.”
Epix will relaunch as MGM+ on January 15.