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Netflix releases trailer for Sam Bankman-Fried drama The Altruists, due 19 November

Netflix released the trailer on 8 October for The Altruists, an eight-part limited series starring Anthony Boyle as Sam Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner as Caroline Ellison. It premieres on 19 November.

2 outlets · 2L · 0C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The Hollywood Reporter
Image: Variety

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The story, neutrally told

Left · 2Netflix released the official trailer on Thursday 8 October for The Altruists, an eight-episode limited series about the rise and fall of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which launches on the streamer on 19 November. Left · 2Anthony Boyle plays Sam Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner plays Caroline Ellison; the official logline describes them as "two hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists" who tried to remake the global financial system before they were accused of stealing $8 billion and became "Gen Z's own Bonnie & Clyde." Left · 1In the trailer, Boyle's character is shown as a brazen, ambitious college student who teams up with Ellison to start a crypto business, saying "We can call it 'FTX!'" and "It's the Wild West out there."

Left · 2Supporting cast includes 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, with Hudson Williams, Paul Reiser, Robin Weigert, Maddie Hasson and Jennifer Grey also appearing. Left · 2Graham Moore is writer, creator and showrunner, and Barack and Michelle Obama are among the executive producers through Higher Ground Productions; the series is inspired by New York Magazine articles by Kevin T. Dugan and Jen Wieczner. Left · 1FTX collapsed in late 2022 after a run on customer withdrawals exposed an $8 billion imbalance; Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and Ellison, who ran the affiliated trading firm Alameda Research and was his former partner, testified against him after pleading guilty to other charges.

Left · 2Variety adds that Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison and that the US government alleged he cheated investors and customers out of upwards of $10 billion, while Hollywood Reporter dates the conviction to November 2023 and gives the $8 billion figure.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left2 outlets

Framing
Entertainment-trade coverage that treats the trailer as a casting and production announcement, leading with Boyle and Garner and the series' premiere date.
Emphasis
Cast, creative team, Obama executive producers, premiere date, and the 'Gen Z's own Bonnie & Clyde' logline; brief factual background on the FTX case.
Leaves out or plays down
Neither piece includes comment from Bankman-Fried or Ellison, or discusses how accurate the dramatisation is.
Charged language
“Gen Z’s own Bonnie & Clyde”“partner-in-crime”
For example
“Anthony Boyle is almost unrecognizable in his latest role as the bushy-haired American Sam Bankman-Fried.” — The Hollywood Reporter
“Netflix has released the trailer for “The Altruists,” the Anthony Boyle and Julia Garner-led drama” — Variety

Centre0 outlets

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Right0 outlets

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