Netflix Releases Trailer for FTX Series Starring Anthony Boyle and Julia Garner

Netflix has dropped a trailer for its eight episode series on the lead-up to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. The show centers on former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman Fried and Caroline Ellison, his colleague and girlfriend who ran sister firm Alameda Research. Anthony Boyle plays Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner plays Ellison. The series arrives on Nov. 19, and Netflix pitched it in a Thursday post as a story about “love scorned prodigies.” The trailer leans on the idea that going all-in every time is the mathematically optimal strategy, which appears to point to the exchange’s risky bets with customer funds.

Ellison’s Testimony and Effective Altruism

One line from Garner as Ellison, “Lying isn’t bad for a good cause,” echoes Ellison’s testimony at the 2023 criminal trial. She said Bankman-Fried believed rules against lying and stealing did not always apply to effective altruism, a philosophy focused on doing the most good, including through “earning to give.”

Where SBF and Ellison Stand Today

Bankman Fried, Ellison and others tied to FTX and Alameda were indicted in December 2022 after the collapse and bankruptcy. Ellison took a plea deal and testified against him. He chose trial, was convicted on seven felony counts of fraud and received a 25-year sentence. He remains in federal prison, with pending motions seeking a presidential pardon from Donald Trump and a Supreme Court review of his conviction. Ellison was released from federal custody in January.