“If this isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever read, it’s tied for first,” said Soderbergh. “We will not be responsible for people’s heads splitting in half when they see it.”
Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff and Roxane Mesquida have joined lead Avan Jogia in Now Apocalypse, Starz’s upcoming original half-hour comedy series from creator/executive producer Gregg Araki and Steven Soderberg.
“If this isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever read, it’s tied for first,” said Soderbergh. “We will not be responsible for people’s heads splitting in half when they see it.”
The order also furthers Soderbergh’s relationship with Starz, for whom he also executive produces the drama series “The Girlfriend Experience,” based on his 2009 film of the same name. It is also Soderbergh’s latest TV project in recent years, with the celebrated film director having executive produced shows like “The Knick” for Cinemax, “Red Oaks” for Amazon, “Mosaic” for HBO, and “Godless” for Netflix. He also directed multiple episodes of “The Knick” and “Mosaic.
Co-written by Araki, who also directs, and Vogue.com sex columnist Karley Sciortino, Now Apocalypse is a 10-episode surreal, coming-of-age comedy that follows Ulysses (Jogia) and his friends Carly (Berglund), Ford (Mirchoff) and Severine (Mesquida), who are on various quests pursing love, sex and fame while navigating the strange and oftentimes bewildering city of Los Angeles. Between sexual and romantic dating app adventures, Ulysses grows increasingly troubled as foreboding premonitory dreams make him wonder if some kind of dark and monstrous conspiracy going on, or is he just smoking too much weed?
Berglund’s Carly is a wannabe actress and
Ulysses’ best friend, Mirchoff’s Ford is an aspiring screenwriter and Ulysses’ roommate, and
Araki and Soderbergh are executive producing the series with Gregory Jacobs. Sciortino serves as consulting producer. Araki previously directed two episodes of “Red Oaks.” He also recently helmed episodes of “Riverdale” and “13 Reasons Why.” He is perhaps best known for his films “Mysterious Skin” and “Kaboom.”
Gregg brings an incredibly unique and adventurous story to the Starz brand and we cannot wait for the world to meet the bold, sexy and fun characters of ‘Now Apocalypse’,” said Carmi Zlotnik, president of programming for Starz. “It’s exciting to bring diverse and compelling storytelling to the screen as part of Starz’s ongoing programming strategy to provide premium content to reach underserved audiences.”
Starz, a Lionsgate company, retains all domestic multiplatform pay TV and SVOD rights to the series. Lionsgate retains all international and domestic distribution and home entertainment rights.
Berglund, best known for her lead role on Disney XD’s Lab Rats, most recently starred in the indie horror pic Ghost in the Graveyard. She is repped by UTA, Industry Entertainment and Bloom Hergott.
Mirchoff, whose credits include MTV’s Awkward and pics like the Flatliners remake and I Am Number 4, is repped by APA, Velocity Entertainment Partners and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.
Mesquida, the face of cosmetic brand Laura Mercier, has credits including Gossip Girl. She is with Elevate Artist Management and 3Arts Entertainment.
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