In a step in the right direction to keep from getting too far behind its competition, Showtime has decided to work with controversial novelist Bret Easton Ellis on a soap opera, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Dubbed "The Canyon", Ellis will be working with the cable network to produce something that (sadly) sounds more like "Friday the 13th" than "Twin Peaks".

The six main characters -- including an art gallery owner, lawyer, event planner and a closeted bartender -- deal with career and relationship issues. They encounter violent situations and anxieties that are briefly manifested as monsters and other apparitions that may or may not be real.

Despite the surreal touches, Ellis says he doesn't want the series to venture into
David Lynch territory. "There are no midgets walking backwards," he said, laughing. "We want something much more naturalistic -- a very realistic soap."

Ellis said he developed the idea during one of his "dark periods" living in a Los Angeles hotel while looking for a home. "I had a feeling that the world was coming to an end, which I still think it is, and was making fear-based decisions, which were getting me into worse situations. I wanted to write a soap based on fear and anxiety in L.A." - Hollywood Reporter

Hopefully Mr.Ellis will take advantage of the freedom of subscription cable and lets himself go, the same way he lets himself goes in his over-the-top stories.