Starz announced today that it will develop a new original drama series from The Newsroom writer Gideon Yago with Executive Producer Rob Tapert. Airborne is a coming of age story set at the dawn of the Vietnam War. The series follows a young helicopter crew as they fight for survival, sanity, their souls, and each other in a country - and war - that are descending into chaos.

The new original series will be produced by Starz with Executive Producer Rob Tapert (Spartacus, Evil Dead, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) and Producer Aaron Lam. Airborne will be written by Gideon Yago, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist and former MTV News and CBS News writer and correspondent. Yago has written drama pilots for both ABC and AMC and was a staff writer on the first season of HBO's The Newsroom. Yago is represented by CAA.

Here's what Gideon Yago had to say in a brief statement.

"Even though we are using Vietnam and the early days of air cavalry as a backdrop, our hope is to bring the audience timeless stories about what makes a hero and how a group of young people fight to retain their humanity in the midst of a surreal and terrible conflict."

Starz Managing Director Carmi Zlotnik had this to say in her own statement.

"This project explores events that continue to be a relevant and engrossing point of conversation today. The experiences of these young men and their fight for survival are being brought to life by Gideon Yago and Rob Tapert in a way that has not been done."

Executive producer Rob Tapert released his own statement.

"We are incredibly excited to be working on a project that holds such continued importance and relevance today. Airborne will capture the human story of war -- a story of love, loss and sacrifice. It will deliver those elements through a lens that is both surreal and stylized, taking the television audience on a journey they have yet to experience in this genre."

Starz will retain all domestic and international multiplatform rights including television, home entertainment, and digital.