Plot Synopsis

Inspired by the 2009 movie of the same name, THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE is a half-hour series that follows women who provide emotional and sexual relationships at a very high price. Season 1 focuses on Christine Reade, a second-year student at Chicago-Burnham Law School and a new intern at the prestigious firm of Kirkland & Allen. Working hard to establish herself at the firm, her focus quickly shifts when a classmate introduces her to the world of transactional relationships. Known as GFEs, they are women who provide "The Girlfriend Experience" -- emotional and sexual relationships at a very high price. Juggling two very different lives, Christine quickly finds herself drawn into the GFE world, attracted to the rush of control and intimacy. At the Television Critics Association 2016 Winter Press Tour, executive producer Lodge Kerrigan revealed that "there's no connection [to the movie]. It's a completely original series. It was inspired by the movie, I think would be the best way to say." Executive producer Steven Soderbergh added, "I think the mandate was take the title and start over."

The 14-episode second season of THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE premiered on Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT on Starz, and focuses on entirely new characters, relationships, plotlines and locations, taking on a new format by following two parallel storylines each written, directed and executive produced by Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz, the co-creators of the series. One storyline is set in Washington, D.C. and the other in New Mexico. Kerrigan's storyline is set against the backdrop of the corrupting influence of dark money in the upcoming 2018 U.S. mid-term elections, where everything and everyone has a price. This section of the second season tracks an unexpected and complex relationship between Erica Myles, a commanding and strong-willed finance director of a Republican super PAC, and Anna Garner, a confident and intelligent GFE provider at the top of her game. Erica is under intense pressure to deliver on her super PAC fundraising goals. She meets Anna and enlists her help in blackmailing a high-powered dark money fundraiser. After their initial exchange, Erica and Anna fall into a complicated sexual relationship, marked by an exploration of vulnerability, dominance and submission, which also draws in Erica's manipulative ex-girlfriend. The mix of personal instability and career pressure mount and lead Erica down a path, both professionally and personally, that she struggles to control. Seimetz's storyline follows Bria Jones, a former high-end escort who enters the Witness Protection Program in order to escape her abusive relationship. After being torn from her upscale lifestyle, Bria and her estranged step-daughter are relocated to New Mexico where they are overseen by a commanding US Marshal, Ian Olsen. Despite orders to stay low, Bria begins to revive her career as a sex worker, still enraptured by the allure of precarious relationships and lavish gifts. Bria's moonlighting only becomes more complicated when it threatens to ensnare her new identity, her step-daughter, and the government official put in charge of her well-being. Bria quickly realizes she not only has to protect herself from her domineering ex but the very people who are supposed to be protecting her. Bria is forced to take matters into her own hands as she gambles not only her own safety but the people around her in a bid to regain the life she once had.

Season 3 of THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE premiered with back-to-back new episodes on Sunday, May 2, 2021 from 8-9pm ET/PT on Starz. Season 3 is set amidst the London tech scene and focuses on Iris, a neuroscience major. As she begins to explore the transactional world of The Girlfriend Experience, Iris quickly learns that her client sessions provide her with a compelling edge in the tech world and vice versa. She then begins to question whether her actions are driven by free will, or something else altogether, and heads down a deep path of exploration.
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On Sunday, June 20, 2021 from 8-9pm ET/PT, Starz premiered back-to-back new episodes for the Season 3 finale of THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE:

"State of Mind" (8pm): Having lost all sense of perspective, Iris confides in Christophe, who, in turn, opens up a part of his world; little does Iris know; the encounter will leave her shaken to the core.

"Integration" (8:30pm): Struggling to recover from betrayal, Iris is willing to take a radical leap once again; she needs to confront one more person before making a fateful decision: Emcee.