Watch Super Pumped

Super Pumped is a forthcoming Showtime drama series that tells the jaw-dropping story of the indomitable rise and sudden fall of Uber, the behemoth ride-hailing company whose meteoric ascent turned it into a Silicon Valley darling and a global colossus, only to precipitously land it in hot water and controversy. The show is developed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, the creative minds behind Billions, and is based on the bestselling book of the same name by Mike Isaac.

The eight-episode series takes us on a wild and shocking ride through the early days of Uber and its visionary co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick, played by Canadian actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is also an executive producer. Kalanick is portrayed as a charismatic, cutthroat, and unapologetic tech entrepreneur with a fierce ambition to revolutionize the taxi industry and conquer the world. He is shown recruiting his best friend and confidant Garrett Camp (played by Kyle Allen) to join him in his audacious venture, which starts as a simple smartphone app but rapidly grows into a multibillion-dollar company.

Super Pumped showcases the relentless drive and ruthless tactics that Uber employed to disrupt and dominate its competitors, both in the United States and abroad. We see how Kalanick and his team take on the taxi unions, regulators, and traditional cab companies, often resorting to brazen flouting of the law, aggressive lobbying, and shady business practices to gain the upper hand. The series also shines a light on the toxic corporate culture that flourished at Uber, characterized by cutthroat competition, excessive work hours, sexual harassment, and rampant discrimination.

Alongside Kalanick and Camp, Super Pumped also features a colorful cast of characters, both real and fictional, who were instrumental in shaping the rise and fall of Uber. These include Ryan Graves (played by Manny Jacinto), the company's first CEO and a crucial figure in its early growth; Arianna Huffington (played by Sofia Black-D'Elia), the media mogul and diversity advocate who joined Uber's board in 2016; and Susan Fowler (played by Kerry Bishé), the former Uber engineer whose explosive blog post in 2017 exposed the company's culture of harassment and misogyny.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Super Pumped is the irreverent and critical tone it adopts towards Uber and its founders, which is quite unlike the hagiographic and aspirational narratives that many tech-related shows and films tend to espouse. While the show acknowledges the positive impact that Uber had on the transportation industry and the convenience it brought to millions of customers, it also lays bare the ethical, legal, and societal dilemmas that arose from its unchecked growth and insatiable appetite for profit. It invites us to question whether innovation should always come at any cost, whether the ends always justify the means, and whether some companies are too big and powerful to be held accountable.

The production values of Super Pumped are impressive, with a slick and stylized visual style that combines contemporary aesthetics with a retro vibe. The show captures the frenzied energy of the startup scene and the glamour of the tech world, but also juxtaposes it with the grittiness and mundanity of everyday life. The music score is catchy and eclectic, blending techno beats with indie rock and pop anthems. The acting is uniformly superb, with Gordon-Levitt delivering a tour-de-force performance as Kalanick, capturing both his magnetic charisma and his inherent flaws.

Overall, Super Pumped promises to be a riveting and provocative series that will appeal not only to fans of tech and business dramas but also to anyone interested in the intersection of innovation, ethics, and power. It brings to life one of the most fascinating and tumultuous episodes in recent history and offers a cautionary tale about the consequences of unbounded ambition and hubris. Whether you're a fan or a critic of Uber, you won't want to miss this must-see TV event.

Super Pumped is a series that ran for 1 seasons (7 episodes) between February 27, 2022 and on Showtime