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Netflix has set the release date for “The Altruists,” inspired by Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison’s rise and fall from financial power.
“The Altruists” hits Netflix November 19. Netflix has also released the first-look
photos for the drama, which can be seen below.
The logline for the show reads, “The story of Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, two hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists who tried to remake the global financial system in the blink of an eye – before they were accused of stealing $8 billion and became Gen Z’s own Bonnie & Clyde.”
At his peak, Bankman-Fried was listed as the 41st-richest American in the Forbes 400. (He was on the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, but also included on its 2023 Hall of Shame list as a selection Forbes wished it could take back.) In November 2022, evidence of fraud surfaced and FTX was forced to go bankrupt. Bankman-Fried was arrested in December 2022.
Ellison was the CEO of Alameda Research, a trading firm affiliated with FTX. She lost that job after FTX and Alameda filed for bankruptcy. Prior to their fall from grace, Bankman-Fried and Ellison were in a relationship. She later went on to testify against Bankman-Fried in court.
The eight-episode series stars Julia Garner as Caroline Ellison and Anthony Boyle as Sam Bankman-Fried. Joining them are Alex Lawther as Sam Trabucco, Karan Soni as Nishad Singh, Naomi Okada as Claire Watanabe, Madison Hu as Constance Wang, Matt Rife as Ryan Salame and Eugene Young as Gary Wang.
Hudson Williams, Paul Reiser, Robin Weigert, Maddie Hasson, Marianna Phung, Jennifer Grey, Terry Chen, William Mapother, Jack Greenlees, Elizabeth Adams, Hannah Galway, Donald Heng, David James Lewis and Jasmine Lukuku also star.
“The Altruists” is created by Graham Moore and inspired by the New York Magazine articles written by Kevin T. Dugan and Jen Wieczner.
Moore serves as writer and showrunner along with Jacqueline Hoyt. James Ponsoldt, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Mairzee Almas, Moore and Silver Tree are directors.
Moore, Hoyt and Barack and Michelle Obama are executive producers. Jessie Dicovitsky and Vinnie Malhotra executive produced for Higher Ground Productions, with Scoop Wasserstein for New York Magazine/Vox Media Studios. Tonia Davis, Ponsoldt, Lauren Morelli and Garner are also executive producers.
