And if the dream of changing the world hides one of the most explosive financial frauds of recent years? We’ll try to understand it in The Altruists, a new Netflix miniseries that brings to the screen the true story of Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, the two young leads of the FTX scandal. Watch below the official trailer that previews a tale where idealism, ambition, and emotions intertwine. In the leads’ shoes are Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle, the two performers behind the two halves of a couple that seemed destined to revolutionize the global financial system and which instead ended up at the heart of one of the most controversial episodes in the recent history of cryptocurrencies. The series will debut on Netflix on Thursday, November 19, with all eight episodes available at once.
The Plot of The Altruists
Created by Graham Moore (The Imitation Game) and Jacqueline Hoyt (The Leftovers), The Altruists tells the true story of Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, two bright and ambitious young people who dream of revolutionizing the global financial system through the crypto world. What starts as a project with the appearance of destined success, however, transforms into an $8 billion scandal that swallows their lives and calls into question everything they believed. Against the backdrop of FTX’s collapse, the miniseries also explores the romantic relationship between the two protagonists, balancing immense ambitions, trust, and deception, reconstructing the rise and fall of what has been described as the Gen Z Bonnie and Clyde.
The Altruists, the Netflix miniseries trailer with Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle
The trailer for The Altruists introduces viewers to the world of two brilliant, ambitious youths who are convinced they can rewrite the rules of the game. Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison are not depicted merely as figures involved in a financial scandal, but as complex individuals whose aspirations and personal relationships intertwine with a story destined to unfold. At the center is the contrast between the image of idealistic youngsters, capable of earning investors’ trust quickly, and the collapse of an empire built around cryptocurrencies.
The True Story Behind The Altruists: The FTX Scandal and the $8 Billion
The miniseries draws on the real-life saga of Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, central figures in the rise and fall of the FTX empire. Bankman-Fried had built his public image around the idea of using wealth to do good, while Ellison had become a key figure in the financial world surrounding the company. Their venture seemed to embody the promises of a new generation of tech entrepreneurs: innovation, rapid growth, and the ability to redesign the global economic system. But in 2022, when the FTX crisis sparked a rush on withdrawals, a shortfall of about $8 billion emerged, sending the company into an irreversible crisis.
The Cast of The Altruists and Who’s Behind the Netflix Series
The leads are Julia Garner (known for Ozark and Inventing Anna) as Caroline Ellison, and Anthony Boyle in the role of Sam Bankman-Fried. Alongside them are Alex Lawther, Matt Rife, Madison Hu, Karan Soni, Eugene Young, and Naomi Okada. The recurring cast also includes Hudson Williams, Jennifer Grey, Terry Chen, Elizabeth Adams, Hannah Galway, William Mapother, Paul Reiser, Robin Weigert, Maddie Hasson, and Marianna Phung.
Executive producers include Moore, Hoyt, Ponsoldt, Vinnie Malhotra, Jessie Dicovitsky, Scoop Wasserstein, Tonia Davis, Lauren Morelli, and Garner herself. The series is produced by Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, and it draws inspiration from investigations published by New York Magazine.
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