The Knick is already one of the hottest shows of the summer, and not a single episode has even aired. The new Cinemax show, starring Clive Owen, will start its 10-episode run on August 8, but the station has already renewed the show for a second season. With "retired" director Steven Soderbergh directing all of season one, it has also been revealed that he will continue to helm all ten episodes of season two as well.

When speaking with Variety, the director noted that, "I’m going to do all 10." He added that, "(Y)ou’re seeing a trend now of … a sense that there’s a positive aspect to having a visual language that’s very specific and very unified throughout the show."

“It’s not only creatively satisfying, but also, practically speaking, better … in terms of economics … we schedule it like a film," he continued.

So, essentially, while it is unclear just when Soderbergh fans will—if ever—see a new Soderbergh film on the screen, there is some comfort knowing that there is essentially a 10-to-20 hour Soderbergh film coming to television throughout the next couple years. If that sounds a lot to just the viewer, imagine how the director must feel.

"11 months ago, I did not think I’d be sitting here talking about 10 hours of material that is behind us and 10 hours in front of us, but I had a very similar reaction to the one Clive had when I read the first script," Soderbergh said. "I knew that, as the first person who got to take a look at it, the second person who was going to see it would say yes."

"My whole life, I’ve moved in any direction that I felt was going to engage me and excite me," he added.

Of course, his quote-on-quote "retirement" was fairly exaggerated when it was first announced in the media, something that Soderbergh seems to regret having said in the first place as he added, "It’s sort of unfortunate that people have to keep listening to me explain why I went back to work.”

Set in 1900s downtown New York, the show centers on a Knickerbocker Hospital and their groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff, who push the boundaries of their "modern medicine" in a time of high morality rates and no antibiotics.

Image courtesy of INFphoto.com