THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE:
Created, written, and directed by Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz, executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, and based on the 2009 film of the same name, “The Girlfriend Experience” is an American anthology drama television series starring Riley Keough as Christine Reade, a law student intern who also works as a high-end escort and first broadcast on April 10, 2016.
PREMISE:
The intersection of sex work and corporate sterility is where Starz’s The Girlfriend Experience has set up shop. The half-hour anthology drama has jumped from city to city and industry to industry in its first three iterations — a white-shoe law firm in Season 1 (starring Riley Keough), a GOP fundraising outfit (featuring Louisa Krause), and a government safe house (with Carmen Ejogo) in the bifurcated Season 2 — but its chilly minimalism and airless, increasingly claustrophobic tone have been series-defining constants.
The latest season premiered on Sunday, May 2, 2021, at 8:00 P.M on Starz.
Julia Goldani Telles (Bunheads, The Affair) takes over as the lead: behavioral psychologist Iris, who works at a matchmaking-through-AI startup in London by day and for a high-end escort service by night. Original series creators Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz left the show after Season 2, passing the baton to Anja Marquadt (She’s Lost Control), who wrote and directed all 10 episodes.
Iris’ entry into sex work begins in a sci-fi-esque white void, where her interview for the escort agency takes place. In their VR simulation, the older woman (Talisa Garcia) evaluating Iris can’t be sure that the face the applicant is presenting is her own; she apparently doesn’t know what Iris looks like at all. It’s the first of many credulity-straining details that make Marquadt’s stab at the series, at least based on the first five episodes, a frustrating follow-up.
Where can I watch “The Girlfriend Experience”?
Exclusively available for streaming on Starz, you can also watch the show on Hulu (Free Trial), and Prime Video.