‘Maid’ Showrunner Molly Smith Metzler and LuckyChap Reteam for ‘Sirens’ at Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)
Netflix has ordered the limited series “Sirens,” a female-driven dark comedy from “Maid” writer and showrunner Molly Smith Metzler and executive produced by LuckyChap.
The new series is the first under Metzler’s multi-year overall deal with Netflix, announced in February 2022 following the massive success of “Maid.” The series — starring Margaret Qualley and produced by LuckyChap, as well as John Wells Productions — debuted on the streamer in October 2021, where it spent 14 weeks on the streamer’s global Top 10 TV list and reached the Top 10 in 93 countries. “Maid” was also a critical hit, as Metzler — an award-winning writer and playwright whose credits also include “Shameless” and “Orange Is the New Black” — won a WGA award and the show earned multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice award nominations.
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Under the pact, Metzler and her Quiet Coyote banner set out to develop new series and other projects for the streamer, with a focus on projects that are “socially conscious and offer roles for women both in front of and behind the camera.”
“Sirens” is based on Metzler’s play “Elemeno Pea,” which she wrote at The Juilliard School. The play premiered in 2011 at the 35th Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Ky., and went on to be produced at South Coast Rep in California and more theaters across the country.
“Devon thinks her sister Simone has a really creepy relationship with her new boss, the enigmatic socialite Michaela Kell,” the series’ logline explains. “Michaela’s cult-ish life of luxury is like a drug to Simone, and Devon has decided it’s time for an intervention. When Devon tracks her sister down to say WTF, she has no idea what a formidable opponent Michaela will be.”
The story takes place over the course of “one explosive weekend at The Kells’ lavish beach estate” and the series is described as an “incisive, sexy, and darkly funny exploration of women, power and class.”
In addition to serving as showrunner and writer for “Sirens,” Metzler will executive produce the limited series alongside LuckyChap’s Dani Gorin, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie. LuckyChap’s Maureen Shepard and Quiet Coyote’s Colin McKenna will produce.
News that Metzler is teaming up with LuckyChap again comes as little surprise as the production company’s principal trio Ackerley, Robbie and Josey McNamara shared in a recent Variety cover story that “repeat business is key” to their success.
“It’s as important to know what to say no to as it is to say yes to,” McNamara said, explaining the trio’s thought process comes down to asking, “‘Who are the people we love working with, and let’s build long-term relationships with them and help support their careers.’”
Added Robbie: “We have to be really clear about why we started the company and what our North Star is always going to be. … We set out to break barriers with and for female talent, and if it isn’t a project that could potentially do that, then it’s not a project for us.”
Metzler is repped by CAA, Grandview and McKuin Frankel. LuckyChap is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, attorney Jeff Bernstein and Narrative.
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