What do you do when your main competition has hits like "Californication" and "The L Word"?
Well, HBO is hoping to beat Showtime at its own game with a new comedy series, based on "Thanks for Coming" — a book about a young woman who has difficulty achieving orgasm.
Written by former Village Voice reporter Mara Altman, "Coming" chronicles the Altman’s search for her orgasm after spending the first nine years of her sex life unable to climax with the help of men or machines.
Altman told TheWrap that the idea was "inspired" by a conversation with a friend who suggested she write about her "orgasmic issues." She said she initially "got super pissed off at the idea, thinking he was urging me to exploit my sexuality."
Eventually, she changed her mind. "I realized that i could hit two birds with one stone — put my journalistic and writing interests to work while going on a personal journey for something that had left me mystified my whole life."
"Grumpy Old Men" screenwriter Mark Steven Johnson will be adapting the book for TV and "Pretty in Pink’s" Howard Deutch will be directing.
Altman will serve as a consultant. So far, it sounds like a pretty good gig. "So far, it seems to include eating and talking about orgasms," she said.
As of now, there are no actors attached, and Altman said she has no specific stars in mind. "To be picky about casting seems a little greedy. That being said, I’d like to at least have something in common with the star — maybe an appreciation for hummus or a healthy respect for the vulva," she said.
The TV deal isn’t the only good thing that’s happened to Altman since the publication of her book. She’s also seems to have made progress with her quest to climax. "I’ve had some luck with the orgasm," she said.
