#The rise of 80s-era erotic phone lines gets Netflix show, ‘Dirty Lines’

Netflix is working with Fremantle-owned producer Fiction Valley on a Dutch original series that will examine the rise of erotic phone lines against the backdrop of the 1980s cultural revolution in Amsterdam.

“Dirty Lines” is inspired by Fred Saueressig’s book “06-Cowboys” and centers on young businessman Frank Stigter, who goes about setting up Europe’s first phone sex line, sparking what would become a multi-million dollar industry.

Working with his brother and sister, Stigter started with a clumsy experiment in his parents’ garage, but his business became part of the hedonistic culture of Amsterdam, offering anonymous thrills for new kinds of customers.

“Dirty Lines” will be written by Pieter Bart Korthuis (“Fighter’s Heart”) and the commission was overseen by Tesha Crawford, Netflix director of international originals in Northern Europe.

Crawford said: “We have been excited to tell a surprising story that combines elements of Amsterdam we have seen before but is told from an angle that is new to many.”

Amsterdam-based Fiction Valley is run by creative director Annemieke van Vliet. “Dirty Lines” is the company’s latest project for Netflix after it was commissioned last month to make the streamer’s first Dutch feature Richie Rich.