Steven Soderbergh Comes ‘Full Circle’: See His TV Career in Photos
Though he’s best known for his films like Traffic, Erin Brockovich, and the Ocean’s and Magic Mike installments, Steven Soderbergh has been working in television for 30 years now. And the filmmaker’s latest TV project is Full Circle, a Max drama starring Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, and Dennis Quaid.
“What I liked about Full Circle was you’ve got a family who has built this massive edifice and this fairly substantial economic ecosystem on a lie,” Soderbergh, who directed all six episodes, told Variety. “And they’ve been willing to look beyond that because of the status and the comfort that they enjoy. … Why do we create destruction and suffering for other people and think that’s necessary in order to survive?”
Browse the gallery below to see what else Soderbergh has done on the small screen.
Full Circle, Thursday, July 13, Max
Fallen Angels (1993–1995)
For this Showtime neo-noir anthology, Soderbergh got a CableACE Award nomination for each of the two episodes he directed, including 1995’s “The Professional Man,” starring Bruce Ramsay and Brendan Fraser.
K Street (2003)
Teaming up with George Clooney, Soderbergh created and directed this satirical HBO series in which married political consultants James Carville (pictured here) and Mary Matalin played fictionalized versions of themselves and shared the screen with real-life politicians.
Unscripted (2005)
In another collaboration with Clooney, Soderbergh executive-produced this HBO comedy-drama, starring actors Bryan Greenberg, Krista Allen, and Jennifer Hall as themselves — or, at least, versions of themselves struggling to land Hollywood jobs.
His Way (2011)
Soderbergh collaborated with Jerry Weintraub on the Ocean’s trilogy and Behind the Candelabra — the duo are seen here on the set of Ocean’s Thirteen in 2007 — and honored him by executive-producing this HBO documentary about the legendary film producer’s life and career.
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
The filmmaker won a directing Emmy for this HBO biopic about the romance between flamboyant singer Liberace (played by Michael Douglas) and young partner Scott Thorson (played by Matt Damon).
The Knick (2014–2015)
Soderbergh got two Emmy nominations for directing the Cinemax period drama The Knick — which he also executive-produced — starring André Holland and Clive Owen as two surgeons working at a New York City hospital during the early 20th century.
Red Oaks (2014–2017)
One of Prime Video’s first forays into original programming was this ’80s-set comedy-drama, executive-produced by Soderbergh, starring Craig Roberts (seen here with Ennis Esmer, right) as a college student working at a New Jersey country club in one of his last summers of freedom.
The Girlfriend Experience (2016–2021)
Soderbergh was an executive producer of this Starz drama, based on his 2009 film of the same name, about escorts — including one played by Riley Keough (just nominated for an Emmy for Daisy Jones & The Six), seen here — who provide their clients with physical and emotional intimacy.
Godless (2017)
The Hollywood heavyweight earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Limited Series for executive-producing this Netflix miniseries, which starred Merritt Wever and Michelle Dockery as residents of a women-led town in the Wild West.
Mosaic (2018)
Soderbergh returned to HBO as director and EP of this interactive murder mystery starring Sharon Stone and Garrett Hedlund, for which viewers could use a mobile app to see the storyline from different perspectives.
Now Apocalypse (2019)
The filmmaker exec-produced this Starz series about young Los Angelenos — played by Roxane Mesquida, Beau Mirchoff, Avan Jogia, and Kelli Berglund — pursuing love, sex, and fame amid a possible doomsday.
Leavenworth (2019)
In another Starz project that same year, Soderbergh served as EP of Leavenworth, a docuseries about Clint Lorance, a former U.S. Army lieutenant sentenced to 19 years in prison for murder.
Wireless (2020)
Soderbergh was one of the Tinseltown talents lured in by the short-form (and short-lived) streaming platform Quibi: He executive-produced the survival thriller Wireless, starring Tye Sheridan as a college student stranded in the Colorado mountains.
93rd Academy Awards (2021)
In another executive-producing gig, Soderbergh worked on the 93rd Annual Academy Awards, which were held at Los Angeles’ Union Station in a socially-distanced ceremony during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finding Magic Mike (2021)
After directing Magic Mike and contributing to Magic Mike XXL, Soderbergh helped bring the big-screen franchise to the small screen with this HBO Max reality competition starring aspiring male strippers.
Full Circle (2023)
Soderbergh is back in the director’s chair for this Max series created by Ed Solomon, in which “an investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City,” the streaming platform says.
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