Showtime has released the first teaser for “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” its anthology series starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Uma Thurman as The Huffington Post co-founder and previously Uber board member Arianna Huffington.
In the video, which you can view above, Thurman’s Huffington calls Gordon-Levitt’s Kalanick “the notorious bad boy of tech” — but, like, in a complimentary way. And it’s a hard to not at least be intrigued by Travis’s behavior, as the guy shouts “we are in the world changing-business” at his employees and promises to “f—ing bleed” for Uber.
That attitude isn’t going over great with everyone though, because Travis’s mentor Bill Gurley (Kyle Chandler) is worried he’s “a liability.”
Per Showtime, “Super Pumped” will tell “the story of one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and most destructive unicorns, Uber. The season pivots on Travis Kalanick (Gordon-Levitt), Uber’s hard-charging CEO who was ultimately ousted in a boardroom coup, and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his mentor Bill Gurley (Chandler), the plainspoken, brilliant Texan venture capitalist who bets his sterling reputation on Uber’s success – and then has to live with the consequences. Thurman stars as Arianna Huffington, the savvy businesswoman and co-founder of The Huffington Post, who was an Uber board member.”
The show was initially put into development as a limited series, but has since been re-conceived as an anthology. Future seasons will each center on a different story that “rocked the business world to its core and changed culture,” per Showtime.
Based on Mike Isaac’s book “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” the first season will “depict the roller-coaster ride of the upstart transportation company, embodying the highs and lows of Silicon Valley,” according to Showtime’s description. “Even amid the radical upheaval generated within the global tech capital, Uber stands out as both a marvel and a cautionary tale, featuring internal and external battles that ripple with unpredictable consequences.”
Beth Schacter serves as co-writer, co-showrunner and executive producer on “Super Pumped” along with Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Paul Schiff, Allyce Ozarski and Stephen Schiff also executive produce. Isaac is co-executive producer.
“Super Pumped” premieres Sunday, Feb. 27 on Showtime.