Paramount Network launches with big stars Kevin Costner and Alicia Silverstone

Paramount Network, which replaces Spike TV in the cable lineup, is thinking big — and we're not talking supersized episodes of "Lip Sync Battle," which joins "Ink Master" and "Bar Rescue" as shows surviving the name change.

The network is adding big-budget shows designed to compete with HBO and Net­flix. "We like to say we're a premium network without the premium price," said network president Kevin Kay. Besides "Waco," which premieres Wednesday, here are three series to look forward to.

NEAL JUSTIN

Premiere: March 7.

Concept: An anthology series based on the 1989 film, a dark comedy about the price of bullying in high school that starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.

Quote: "I thought that now was sort of the perfect time for it," said creator Jason Micallef. "The original film was released at the end of the Reagan era, and in a time of transition. Now we're in another clearly political time of transition."

Premiere: June 7.

Quote: "As an adult now, I really appreciate what my mom went through," says executive producer Richards."Whenever she would pay the bills, she would be chain smoking. I knew, once that checkbook was out and that cigarette was going, she was not going to be in a good mood. Watching that, it gets me a little choked up."

Premiere: June 20.

Concept: This modern-day Western unites star Kevin Costner and Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan ("Hell or High Water"), who wrote and directed all 10 episodes.

Quote: "I'm always kind of haunted about how I might have fared in the West, because it was a place of drama, random violence," says Costner. "There were winners and losers. And you got lucky. You lived by your wits. And all of it set against this natural, raw beauty. So I've always been drawn to it."

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