Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber arrives on February 27 on Showtime in the US. (Photo: Showtime) A trailer for upcoming Showtime series Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber is out. The series, created by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, is about the rise and fall of American entrepreneur Travis Kalanick, the co-founder and former CEO of ride-hailing service Uber that took the world by storm.
Kalanick’s journey with Uber ended in 2017 after he was accused of ignoring allegations of sexual harassment and maintaining a disreputable culture in the company.
The trailer depicts Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Kalanick as a smug tech bro with a devil-may-care attitude. Judging by the trailer at least he does not appear too different from other tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley or anywhere else who exude what their fans claim is an aura of genius but come across as nothing short of tyrants.
Kalanick insists that although he is willing to listen to “wise counsel”, he will never take orders.
Uma Thurman plays the role of Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of The Huffington Post, who is a part of Uber’s board of directors.
Kyle Chandler is Bill Gurley, who was one of the early Uber investors. He sums up Kalanick by saying. “The best thing about Travis is that he is willing to run through walls to win. The worst thing about him is he thinks everything is a wall.”
Overall, the series seems worth the wait, particularly if one is interested in the inner workings of the biggest tech startups in the world. Though, having Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has one of Hollywood’s most innocent-looking faces, as a sinister character might work against the series.
Super Pumped is apparently an anthology series that will depict the tale of a startup every season.
Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, which is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Mike Isaac, arrives on February 27 on Showtime in the US.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
