Turns out Steven Soderbergh isn’t retiring after all – at least not when it comes to television.
Though he’s previously stated his intention to hang it up following the completion of his upcoming Liberace biopic “Behind the Candelabra” (read Guy Lodge’s review from Cannes) the writer/director is reportedly teaming with Clive Owen for a 10-episode series on Cinemax entitled “The Knick,” centered on the staff of New York City’s Knickerbocker Hospital at the turn of the century. Soderbergh will direct all of the episodes and executive-produce alongside Owen and writers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler (“Big Miracle,” “The Shaggy Dog”).
Founded in 1862 as the Manhattan Dispensary, a temporary “tent facility” for returning Civil War vets, in subsequent decades the Knickerbocker became a leader in medicine in the pre-antibiotics age thanks to its dedicated staff of surgeons and nurses.
According to Deadline, production on the series could begin as early as this fall.
“The Knick” won’t be Soderbergh’s first foray into television, of course; back in 2003 he created the D.C.-set political series “K Street,” which lasted for a single season on HBO. Owen, meanwhile, recently starred in the HBO telefilm “Hemingway & Gelhorn” opposite Nicole Kidman.
Does “The Knick” sound like a show you’d be interested in seeing? Let us know in the comments.