Steven Soderbergh opens up about new series ‘Command Z’
Director Steven Soderbergh has shared some details about his secretive TV project, Command Z, which nobody knew existed until a few weeks ago.
Set in the futuristic landscape of 2053, Command Z traces the adventures of three jumpsuit-clad time-travellers: Chloe Radcliffe, Roy Wood Jr., and JJ Maley. Their mission is to mentally influence the inhabitants of 2023 and persuade the world’s most influential figures to rethink their potentially catastrophic actions.
The trio reports to the late billionaire Kerning Fealty, or more precisely, a mysterious AI hologram bearing his image, a creation of actor Michael Cera. The topical narrative is a credit to executive producer and writer Kurt Andersen. Command Z‘s roots can be traced back to Andersen’s 2020 book, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History.
The book scrutinises the motivations of America’s richest, detailing their five-decade-long strategy to amass wealth and power. This theme caught Soderbergh’s attention, culminating in a collaboration that birthed Command Z.
The series was shot last summer, and remarkably, Soderbergh managed to keep its production under wraps. Testament to the secrecy, Soderbergh even used his own home as a filming location.
During a joint interview with Variety, Soderbergh and Andersen delved into the mysteries surrounding Command Z. They discussed their initial distribution plans via TikTok and mused over the morality of billionaires.
Regarding distribution, which sees Command Z available on its own official website for $8, Soderbergh expressed reservations about aligning with major corporations. He said, “Having a traditional buyer or brand present didn’t seem perfectly aligned with our intentions. That started to bug us — the idea of a giant company’s logo on this thing.”
Command Z is available to watch now.
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