Joseph Gordon-Levitt Will Play Uber's Controversial Founder Travis Kalanick in a New Anthology Series
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From WeWork to the Fyre Festival to Theranos, there's been no shortage of stories lately about overhyped tech projects run by delusional egomaniacs that start out with promise, then go down spectacularly in flames. Uber avoided a similar fate a few years back by ousting its controversial CEO and co-founder, Travis Kalanick, who'd been at the center of numerous scandals.
The creation of Uber, and the fall of Kalanick, will be the subject of the first season of a new Showtime anthology series, titled Super Pumped. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Kalanick in the season, which will depict the rollercoaster ride that was Uber's first decade. Per Variety, the series the company's founding, its dramatic rise, and the fall that ultimately led to Kalanick being ousted in a 2017 boardroom coup.
Billions co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien will executive produce the show alongside their Billions colleague, Beth Schacter. "We are beyond excited to see what [Gordon-Levitt] will bring to the role of Travis Kalanick, the hyper-brilliant and controversial CEO whose ambition and reckless drive threatened the very enterprise he was determined to build," Amy Israel, executive VP of scripted programming at Showtime, said in a statement. "We are equally thrilled to be partnering on another series with Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Beth Schacter, who always deliver provocative and deeply entertaining shows that drive cultural conversation.”
As chronicled in Mike Isaac’s book Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, on which the series is based, the scandals that ultimately ousted Kalanick included widespread allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination at Uber, multiple lawsuits, and a federal inquiry into Uber's dealings with law enforcement.
Future seasons of Super Pumped won't be about Uber, but each will explore "a story that rocked the business world to its core and changed culture."
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