Steven Soderbergh quietly continues to prove that the Internet made way too big a deal out of his so-called “retirement.” With his early 20th century New York hospital drama ‘The Knick’ set to drop on Cinemax later this summer, Deadline reports that Soderbergh will executive produce a 13-part anthology series based on his 2009 film ‘The Girlfriend Experience.’ Indie filmmakers Lodge Kerrigan (Keane) and Amy Seimetz (Sun Don’t Shine) will write and direct.
Beyond lining up Kerrigan and Seimetz, it’s unclear precisely how involved Soderbergh will be. Joel and Ethan Coen were executive producers on FX’s ‘Fargo’, but their involvement appears to have begun and ended with their blessing. Knowing Soderbergh’s obsessive nature, however (he once re-edited Kerrigan’s film ‘Keane’ just because he could), I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a little more hands on this time around.
The original film starred Sasha Grey as a high end call girl who provided her wealthy clients the whole “Girlfriend Experience” as an economic transaction rather than an emotional one. The idea for the anthology is to follow a different woman in a different city, but I assume it will continue to probe the nature of relationships.
No word yet when to expect the series to air.