Directors Steven Soderbergh and Gregg Araki, both known for daring, transgressive works, are teaming up for a new TV series titled Now Apocalypse.
The 10-episode show will be co-written by Doom Generation’s Araki and Slutever’s Karley Sciortino. It’s a surreal “coming-of-age comedy” that, according to a released synopsis: “explores identity, sexuality, and artistry, while navigating the strange and oftentimes bewildering city of Los Angeles”. It centres on four friends, with the lead named Ulysses. “Between sexual and romantic dating app adventures, Ulysses grows increasingly troubled as foreboding premonitory dreams make him wonder – is some kind of dark and monstrous conspiracy going on, or is he just smoking too much weed?”
“If this isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever read, it’s tied for first. We will not be responsible for people’s heads splitting in half when they see it,” Soderbergh told Variety. High, interesting praise coming from the boundary-pushing filmmaker, who recently released the psychological thriller Unsane shot entirely on an iPhone.
Araki recently worked on dark teen drama 13 Reasons Why and Red Oaks, which was produced by Soderbergh, according to AV Club.
Read back on Soderbergh’s guide to shooting a major movie on your phone for Dazed here.