Andre Holland’s ‘The Knick’ Spin-Off “Still Alive” at HBO, Says ‘Perry Mason’ EP

Perry Mason Season 2 has been one of the most exquisite and underrated gems of the Spring 2023 TV season, thanks in huge part to the work of new co-showrunners Michael Begler and Jack Amiel. The writing team is perhaps best known for their work on the critically-acclaimed Steven Soderbergh series, The Knick, which followed the seedy drama surrounding a turn of the 20th century hospital in New York City for two seasons. Begler and Amiel were still working on a spin-off of The Knick for HBO when Team Downey, aka Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, and Robert Downey, Jr., hired them on for Perry Mason Season 2. So does that mean the long-gestating Knick spin-off is dead?

Well, Begler gave an update to Decider just yesterday on the state of The Knick spin-off starring Andre Holland…

In 2020, Steven Soderbergh confirmed to The Playlist that a third season of The Knick was in development. This new season would focus on Andre Holland’s character, Dr. Algernon Edwards, and Academy award winning director Barry Jenkins would take over the directorial baton.

Of course, a little thing called COVID happened in 2020. Then in 2021 — when The Knick finally made it to HBO Max — Soderbergh could only confirm to Rolling Stone that he had read a pilot by Begler and Amiel and was acting as a “cheerleader” on the project.

Since then, all we’ve heard about the project is that Begler and Amiel were kicking around their Knick spin-off at HBO when Team Downey recruited them to take over showrunning responsibilities for Perry Mason Season 2. So does that mean The Knick is dead in the water? Especially since Begler confirmed to Decider he’s hoping for a Perry Mason Season 3 greenlight?

“I mean, it’s still alive. We’re still developing it. We’ve actually written — Jack and I wrote the first script —and then we have a writer who’s literally just finishing up a second script that we’re going to present to HBO. I know that they really loved the first script,” Begler said.

“The center of the show would be the character of Algernon, who was played by Andre Holland, and we would advance the story. We would start it actually in around 1919. And it would be really about him moving up to Harlem and him opening up a clinic in the Harlem Renaissance. So it would have a real sort of different, cool vibe to it.”

“But, you know,” Begler said with a laugh, “it’s not a cheap show.”

So, take heart, Knick fans! The spin-off focusing on Andre Holland’s captivating and brilliant doctor is not dead yet. In fact it’s still very much alive.

The Perry Mason Season 2 finale will premiere on HBO and HBO Max this Monday, April 24 and Decider will have a full breakdown of all the twists and turns from Begler and his EPs after the premiere.