Photo: Harald Krichel / CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Julia Garner at the Berlinale, February 2020.
Netflix’s The Altruists, a limited series about the rise and fall of the crypto exchange FTX, premieres on Thursday, November 19, 2026. All eight episodes arrive at once. Julia Garner plays Caroline Ellison and Anthony Boyle plays Sam Bankman-Fried, according to Netflix’s Tudum.
What the series is about
Netflix describes the show as a “toxic love story inspired by a real fraud.” It follows two young idealists who set out to remake the global financial system, become suddenly worth billions and, in Netflix’s words, “unleash the worst in each other.” They were later accused of stealing about $8 billion. The synopsis calls them “Gen Z’s Bonnie and Clyde.”
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The series is inspired by reporting from New York magazine, specifically work by Kevin T. Dugan and Jen Wieczner, according to What’s on Netflix. Netflix notes that Ellison spent more than a year in prison and that Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence.
Release date and format
- Date: Thursday, November 19, 2026, globally on Netflix.
- Episodes: eight, released together rather than weekly.
- Trailer: Netflix has published an official trailer, with first-look photos.
Cast
Garner and Boyle lead. The series regulars, per Tudum and What’s on Netflix, are:
- 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
- Eugene Young as Gary Wang
Recurring cast includes Paul Reiser as Joe Bankman, Robin Weigert as Barbara Fried, Jennifer Grey as Sara Fisher Ellison, Terry Chen as CZ, William Mapother as Dr. Lerner, Maddie Hasson as Lauren Platt and Hudson Williams as Duncan Rheingans-Yoo. Tudum spells the role of Ellison’s mother “Sarah”; What’s on Netflix has “Sara”, so check the credits for the final spelling.
Who made it
Graham Moore created the series and co-runs it with Jacqueline Hoyt; both also write. Moore won an Oscar for writing The Imitation Game. Executive producers include Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions (Vinnie Malhotra and Jessie Dicovitsky), Scoop Wasserstein of New York Magazine and Vox Media Studios, Tonia Davis, Lauren Morelli, James Ponsoldt and Garner herself, per What’s on Netflix.
The directors, as listed by What’s on Netflix, are:
- James Ponsoldt: episode 1
- Kyle Patrick Alvarez: episodes 2 and 3
- Mairzee Almas: episodes 4 and 5
- Graham Moore: episode 6
- Silver Tree: episodes 7 and 8
What the creators say
In Netflix’s feature, Moore says: “From the very beginning, I was so fascinated by both Sam’s and Caroline’s real stories,” and describes them as characters he could not have made up himself. He also says: “I don’t know about you, but I feel awfully lucky that I was not under such pressure at that age in my life.” Hoyt calls the show a “deeply intimate story” of two people with “morally conflicted motives.”
What is not known yet
- Episode running times, which neither Tudum nor What’s on Netflix states.
- How closely individual scenes follow the court record. Netflix calls the show “inspired by” real events, so it is a dramatization, not a documentary.
Sources
- Netflix Tudum: In The Altruists, Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle Become a Crypto Power Couple
- Netflix Tudum: The Altruists trailer
- What’s on Netflix: The Altruists, everything we know
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