HBO Max Is Developing a Drama Based on 'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss

March 22, 2023

LOS ANGELES – HBO Max is developing a drama based on the life of Heidi Fleiss, the former so-called “Hollywood Madam” who ran a prostitution ring that had a number of high-profile clients.

Writer and executive producer Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) is heading up the project with Fleiss serving as a consultant.

Fleiss was arrested on a number of prostitution charges in 1993, and the resulting trial on the charges caused an immediate media sensation. Although Fleiss herself never revealed the names of her celebrity clients, Charlie Sheen later testified that he had used Fleiss’ services on a number of occasions

Fleiss was eventually convicted in state court, though that was overturned when an appeals court ruled jurors had swapped votes to avoid a jury deadlock. She went on to serve 20 months in prison after she was convicted on separate federal charges of tax evasion.

In later years, Fleiss moved to Nevada with plans to open a brothel catering to women, but the plans fell through. Living there for nearly 20 years, Fleiss opened a parrot sanctuary and went on to appear on reality shows like VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” and the UK version of “Celebrity Big Brother.”

Fleiss’s life was also featured in a 1995 documentary by Nick Broomfield and in “, Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss,” a 2004 USA Network movie starring Jamie-Lynn Sigler.