The Girlfriend Experience is an American anthology drama television series created, written, and directed by Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz shown on the premium cable network Starz. The first season stars Riley Keough as Christine Reade, a law student intern who also works as a high-end escort. Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh , it is based on the film of the same name.
A episode first season premiered on April 10, , and all episodes were made available on Starz On Demand. On August 1, , Starz renewed the series for a episode second season, focusing on new characters and storylines, with Seimetz and Kerrigan returning.
In July , Starz renewed the series for a episode third season, which is written and directed by Anja Marquardt and stars Julia Goldani Telles. When her close friend Avery reveals that she has been working as an escort, she encourages Christine to tag along and introduces her to a friend of one of her clients, who is looking for an escort. Under the pseudonym "Chelsea Rayne", Christine works as a high-end escort specializing in providing "the girlfriend experience " GFE , an array of sexual and other associated services intended to make the client feel both sexually and emotionally satisfied.
The second season features two parallel storylines. One storyline, set in Washington, D. Under intense pressure to deliver on her fundraising goals, Erica enlists Anna's help in blackmailing a high-powered dark money fundraiser.
The other storyline, set in New Mexico, follows Bria Jones, a former high-end escort who enters the Witness Protection Program with her estranged thirteen-year-old step-daughter to escape an abusive relationship. However, she revives her career as an escort, which threatens Bria's new identity and well-being of her step-daughter and the U. Marshal put in charge of her. Iris, a neuroscience major, drops out of school and moves to London to join a tech start-up that is studying human behavior.
