It seems that the “lady prison” genre is being suddenly, unexpectedly legitimized. It used to be the kind of thing that was relegated to Cinemax and interspersed with plenty of soft-lens nudity to keep people interested. But now, three separate and distinct female prison shows are being developed. All at the same time.

One series, Women in Chains, is pure exploitation. It will be directed by Robert Rodriguez, and starring - naturally enough - his muse Rose McGowan.

According to Harry on AICN, the show has been pitched to many different networks. He rightfully prays that it’s picked up by a premium network, which will surely allow for more of Rodriguez’s unique and twisted vision. But with the way networks have been fighting tooth and nail for high-quality programming, it’s very likely that a standard network will make the winning bid.

Rodriguez, who started as the protegée of Quentin Tarantino, has surpassed his mentor and become a skilled and interesting director in his own right. And, as Planet Terror proved, he does exploitation really, really well.

Another reason why HBO probably won’t pick up Women in Chains: they already have a women’s prison series of their own in development. After the success of Oz, they’re looking to wet their beaks again. And luckily, the highly popular, eight-seasons-long British series Bad Girls is the perfect jumping off point.

Combining a tried-and-true genre with the current fad of adapting British T.V., this Bad Girls remix is a heady brew. The Hollywood Reporter mentions that the remake rights to Bad Girls were previously held by FX, but there’s no explanation of how it fell into HBO’s lap. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, supposedly, Fox is developing a female spin-off of Prison Break?

This is sort of like when all the car companies unveil their new, top secret, innovative designs simultaneously, and they all look like the same blunt-nosed spaceship. I’m putting my money on Rodriguez.

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