The Altruists, Netflix’s eight-episode limited series about the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, premieres on November 19, 2026. Julia Garner plays Caroline Ellison and Anthony Boyle plays Sam Bankman-Fried. All episodes are scheduled to arrive at once, according to the outlets covering Netflix’s announcement. Here is who is in it and what is known about how it was made.
Cast
The series depicts real people, so the roles below are portrayals of them, not the individuals themselves. Per Wikipedia’s entry:
- Julia Garner as Caroline Ellison, co-CEO of Alameda Research
- Anthony Boyle as Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX
- Alex Lawther as Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of Alameda Research
- Matt Rife as Ryan Salame, CEO of FTX Digital Markets
- Madison Hu as Constance Wang, FTX chief operating officer
- Karan Soni as Nishad Singh and Eugene Young as Gary Wang
Recurring roles include Jennifer Grey as Sarah Fisher Ellison, Terry Chen as Changpeng Zhao, Paul Reiser as Joe Bankman and Robin Weigert as Barbara Fried.
Related Reading
Who made it
- Creator and co-showrunner: Graham Moore, with Jacqueline Hoyt as co-showrunner.
- Directors: James Ponsoldt (episode 1), Kyle Patrick Alvarez (episodes 2 and 3), Mairzee Almas (4 and 5), Graham Moore (6) and Silver Tree (7 and 8).
- Source material: articles in New York magazine by Kevin T. Dugan and Jen Wieczner.
- Production: Higher Ground, Scoop Productions, New York Magazine and Vox Media Studios, for Netflix. Filming ran in Vancouver from July to November 2025.
The real events
Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in 2023 over the collapse of FTX. A drama is an interpretation: dialogue and private scenes are written for the screen, so treat it as a dramatisation rather than a record. If you want the facts, start with court records and the reporting the series is based on.
Where to watch and what else is on
The series is on Netflix from November 19; availability can vary by region. For other Netflix picks see our pages on the most-watched Netflix shows.
