From AV Club · · 1m 10s
The Altruists: Crypto Drama Unfolds
Netflix's The Altruists reveals Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison's dysfunctional crypto partnership.
In brief
Netflix's The Altruists reveals Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison's dysfunctional crypto partnership. Netflix's The Altruists series depicts Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison's failed effective altruism mission leading to financial crimes. Originally reported by AV Club.
The Altruists preview
Showrunners Graham Moore and Jacqueline Hoyt preview Netflix's true-crime drama about Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX collapse.
“In November 2022, everyone watched Sam Bankman-Fried’s $32 billion cryptocurrency empire collapse at a dizzying speed.”
Bankman-Fried's conviction
Bankman-Fried was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering in 2023 with Caroline Ellison as the star witness.
“Bankman-Fried was, in fact, convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering in 2023, with his ex-girlfriend/former CEO, Caroline Ellison, as the star witness against him.”
The Altruists' focus
The series explores Bankman-Fried and Ellison's on-again, off-again partnership and their effective altruism mission.
“The miniseries explores the instant fireworks between Bankman-Fried (Anthony Boyle) and Ellison (Julia Garner) when they met while working at a Wall Street firm in 2015.”
The Altruists' timeline
The series alternates between two timelines six years apart to build suspense about their financial crimes.
“The Altruists alternates between two timelines set six years apart, with Moore noting that his intention was to build suspense of how and why these crimes happened.”
The Altruists' premise
Bankman-Fried and Ellison aimed to pursue effective altruism but turned into people who committed financial crimes.
“I genuinely believe the two of them got into this to make the world a better place, but turned each other into people who did the exact opposite of what they set out to do.”
The Altruists' casting
Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle were cast as Bankman-Fried and Ellison after intense auditions and preparation.
“I remember she came into my tiny Silver Lake office on a Saturday afternoon in LA and stayed for four hours.”
The Altruists' ensemble
The series features a wide-ranging ensemble including Madison Hu and Matt Rife as key FTX executives.
“I had never seen Matt’s stand-up comedy before, but he gave an amazing audition and brought a naturalism to it.”
The Altruists' ethical approach
The showrunners emphasized ethical storytelling by blending documented facts with educated imagination.
“It required poring over everything we could get our hands on, including thousands and thousands of pages of trial transcripts.”
The key point
Netflix's The Altruists series depicts Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison's failed effective altruism mission leading to financial crimes.
