The Altruists (TV Series)

In May 2025, Netflix commissioned an eight-episode limited series about the rise and fall of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, told through the love story of Caroline Ellison and Sam Bankman-Fried, with plans to begin shooting that summer. Julia Garner was then negotiating to play Ellison and to serve as an executive producer; Graham Moore, writer of The Imitation Game, was the writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner, Jacqueline Hoyt was an executive producer and co-showrunner, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama were executive producers through their company Higher Ground, and James Ponsoldt was to direct the first episode.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1]

On May 29, 2025, the series was titled The Altruists, with Anthony Boyle cast as Sam Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner as Caroline Ellison. The official logline released at the time described two hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists who tried to remake the global financial system in the blink of an eye. Moore said that for nearly three years the pair’s story had been his daily obsession.⁠[2][2][3]

Production listings showed the series was scheduled to film in Vancouver, Canada, from July 1 to November 24, 2025, under the production company name Fogo Island Productions.⁠[4][4]

On July 10, 2025, ten cast members were added: Eugene Young as FTX co-founder Gary Wang, Madison Hu as FTX chief operating officer Constance WangConstance WangConstance Wang is a co-founder of Pacifica.Open the full entry, Karan Soni as head of engineering Nishad Singh, comedian Matt Rife as FTX Digital Markets chief executive Ryan Salame, Alex Lawther as Alameda Research co-CEO Sam Trabucco, and Naomi Okada as FTX executive Claire Watanabe; Paul Reiser and Robin Weigert play Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried.⁠[5][5][5][5]

In November 2025, The Altruists wrapped production in Vancouver.⁠[6]

On March 17, 2026, six more cast members were announced: Hudson Williams as Duncan Rheingans-Yoo, Jennifer Grey as Sara Fisher Ellison, Terry Chen as CZ, and Elizabeth Adams, Hannah Galway, and William Mapother as Hannah, Lucy, and Dr. Lerner.⁠[7]

On August 13, 2026, Netflix released first-look images and announced that the series would premiere on November 19. The final official logline says Bankman-Fried and Ellison were later accused of stealing $8 billion and became “Gen Z’s own Bonnie & Clyde.” The series runs eight episodes and is inspired by articles written for New York magazine by Kevin T. Dugan and Jen Wieczner; the episodes were directed by James Ponsoldt, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Mairzee Almas, Graham Moore, and Silver Tree.⁠[8][8][8][8][8]

The executive producers include Graham Moore, Jacqueline Hoyt, Barack and Michelle Obama, Jessie Dicovitsky and Vinnie Malhotra of Higher Ground, Scoop Wasserstein of New York Magazine and Vox Media Studios, Tonia Davis, James Ponsoldt, Lauren Morelli, and star Julia Garner. Hoyt said viewers would come away with a better understanding of why the two did what they did.⁠[8][8]

On October 8, 2026, Netflix released the first trailer for the series and reaffirmed that all eight episodes would arrive on November 19; the trailer shows scenes including lavish Bahamian penthouses and frantic trading floors. Moore said he believed the two were sincere altruists from the start who, with the best of intentions, talked each other and themselves into committing terrible crimes over the years the show depicts; Hoyt said the two dared and cajoled each other within their relationship into building a company meant to change the world, ultimately tearing an $8 billion hole in FTX.⁠[9][10][9][9][9][9]

Moore recalled that Garner and Boyle had only spoken by phone before production, and that the two clicked so well at their first rehearsal that he began crying. Garner had only two recordings of Ellison to study, while Boyle had a wealth of video, audio, and TikTok material on Bankman-Fried; Moore asked them not to do impressions of the real people but to create three-dimensional characters.⁠[9][9][9][9]

On October 9, 2026, former FTX chief operating officer Constance Wang posted on X that watching the trailer made her physically throw up; she said she had been COO since before FTX even had a name, was the last person to leave the Bahamas after Bankman-Fried was extradited, and lost everything she had in the collapse. She argued that the trailer turned FTX’s collapse into a love story, said the company’s core team peaked at fewer than 200 people, many of whom worked 16 to 18 hours a day, and said most employees did not know about Ellison and Bankman-Fried’s relationship until after the November 2022 bankruptcy filing; she also said she had no interest in defending those responsible for the collapse. The character based on her is played by Madison Hu.⁠[11][11][11][11][11][11]

FTX, the subject of the series, collapsed in 2022 after a run on customer withdrawals revealed a shortfall of about $8 billion in customer funds. Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, sentenced to 25 years in prison, and ordered to forfeit $11 billion in assets; Ellison, then chief executive of Alameda Research, became the prosecution’s star witness after pleading guilty to other charges.⁠[3][3][3]

The Altruists: Official website: https://www.netflix.com/title/81681910 (opens in a new window).⁠[12]