- Julia Garner will star as Caroline Ellison in Netflix’s upcoming FTX drama.
- The series explores FTX’s collapse through the lens of Ellison and Bankman-Fried’s relationship.
- The Obamas’ Higher Ground joins as executive producers in their first scripted TV project.
Emmy-winning Ozark star Julia Garner is set to star in Netflix’s drama about the rise and fall of the FTX story, playing Caroline Ellison, the former executive in Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto venture. Variety reports that Garner is negotiating to take on the role, her first in a Netflix project since she appeared in Inventing Anna, Maniac, and The Get Down.
Julia Garner to Executive Produce FTX Drama
The unambiguously titled series will be about the rise and fall of the FTX crypto exchange, particularly focusing on the roller-coaster relationship between Ellison and FTX founder Bankman-Fried. Variety reported that the story will be, from their point of view, a personal take on the collapse of a high-profile cryptocurrency firm. Garner is also expected to executive produce the project.
The series is scheduled to begin filming this summer with eight ordered episodes. It will be written, executive produced, and co-run by Academy Award-winning The Imitation Game writer Graham Moore. Moore will be executive producing and co-running with Jacqueline Hoyt, known for work featuring The Leftovers and The Good Wife.
Obama’s Higher Ground Produces Netflix FTX Drama
The production also serves as the first television project for former U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as executive producers through their Higher Ground banner; it will also be executive produced by Vinnie Malhotra, Scoop Wasserstein of Scoop Productions, and Lauren Morelli. James Ponsoldt will executive produce the series and direct the first episode.
And then, last November, the crypto world was rocked when the FTX collapse unfolded amid accusations of embezzlement and the misappropriation of billions of dollars in customer funds to FTX and its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research. He was sentenced to 25 years and ordered to pay $11 billion in restitution. Ellison was sentenced to 24 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy and financial fraud charges.
