“Be bold.” Those are the two words Steven Soderbergh used to summarize his excitement about working in television lately. It was what former HBO head Michael Lombardo told the director when they were discussing the second season of “The Knick,” and it made an impression on Soderbergh because it’s not the kind of note you would ever receive from a major Hollywood studio. In a Q&A this week at The Nitehawk in Williamsburg, following a screening of “Haywire” (read more from that conversation here), Soderbergh explained why the realm of television is so much more attractive, particularly when the film business is less willing and able to take risks.
“It just became a space that was really fun to play in, because everybody was excited. Again, the economics are better. Three million people watch an episode of ‘The Knick,’ that’s a very good evening for cinemas. If three million people go see your a movie, depending on what your movie is, it’s not such a great weekend,” he said.
“I’m just trying to follow where people are telling interesting stories. I’m not a snob. I made ‘K Street’ thirteen years ago, and at the time — HBO, they were excited about the show, and we were trying something kind of weird, and they were really supportive. I’m chasing stories and want to work with people that aren’t scared,” Soderbergh continued. “So right now, as we all know, there’s some really interesting stuff happening in the TV space. What I would like to see happen is what we did on ‘The Girlfriend Experience’ and what we did on ‘The Knick’ which is auteur driven TV. Filmmakers and directors that really take on a whole show and do the whole thing. I just think you get a better result, you get something that’s more unified and more specific, as opposed to having multiple directors coming in.”
Right now, Soderbergh is swinging back to the movie world, with the experimental “Mosaic” and NASCAR heist comedy “Logan Lucky” on his plate, with the latter shooting later this year. However, after that, it looks like the director might be pulling on the scrubs again, and returning to his acclaimed medical drama.
“We had a six year plan when we started ‘The Knick,’ and supposedly we’re going to pick up next fall [with] season three. We had it all mapped out. Every two years we kind of blow up the universe and start over again. I want to do it, so hopefully it’s going to get done,” he shared.
That’s very exciting news. As you might recall, when “The Knick” finished with its shocking conclusion to season two last year, Soderbergh revealed that writers/showrunners/creators Jack Amiel and Michael Begler were already starting to write seasons three and four, and other filmmakers were being considered to take the reins. So even if he doesn’t, Soderbergh will likely still have strong creative input, not unlike “The Girlfriend Experience” series. At the time, 2017 was kicked around as the potential timeframe to shoot season three, and it looks like they’re trying to make that happen. As for the setting and if any characters will be returning, no word yet, but it really does sound like they want to clear the board and start from scratch.
Read more from Soderbergh’s talk at The Nitehawk, and let us know in the comments section what you want to see from “The Knick” season three.