The first official details for Steven Soderbergh’s limited series Godless have been released, The Playlist reports. The limited series, which will be a western, marks Soderbergh’s first collaboration with Netflix. Considering Soderbergh’s successful past with television (including acclaimed series such as Cinemax’s The Knick and Starz’s The Girlfriend Experience), a pairing between Netflix and Soderbergh is a promising one.
Soderbergh serves as executive producer on Godless, which was first presented to him as a film script. Both Soderbergh and director David Fincher reportedly considered taking on the script as their next movie, but both decided not to move forward with the screenplay. Instead, Soderbergh decided to produce the script as a limited series. The project was first announced last spring.
Jeff Daniels, Jack O’Connell, and Michelle Dockery will play the lead roles in Godless, which is set in an Old West mining town comprised entirely of women and follows an outlaw out for revenge.
The official synopsis reads, “Notorious criminal Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) and his gang of outlaws are on a mission of revenge against Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), a son-like protégé who betrayed the brotherhood. While on the run, Roy seeks refuge with hardened widower Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), an outcast herself, in a worn-down, isolated mining town of La Belle, NM — governed mainly by women. When word reaches La Belle that Griffin is headed their way, the town bands together to defend against the murderous gang in a lawless western frontier.
Soderbergh’s most recent film, Lucky Logan – the first movie the director has released since his supposed retirement in 2014 – has met overwhelmingly positive reviews, and appears to have signaled Soderbergh’s return to the feature length form. Godless would suggest that the director might work in television and film at the same time – certainly not a bad prospect for Soderbergh fans.
Godless will arrive on Netflix this fall, with all episodes premiering on the streaming site on November 22.