Apple TV+ has given the green light for a limited series on the office-sharing startup WeWork, dramatizing the twists and turns that led to the ouster of founder and CEO Adam Neumann.
The show, “WeCrashed,” is based on a podcast by Wondery called “WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork,” and will star Oscar winners Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as Neumann and his wife. Lee Eisenberg, known for “The Office,” will co-write, executive produce and serve as showrunner of the series, along with Drew Crevello, as part of an overall deal he signed with the streaming service last year.
“‘WeCrashed’ will follow the greed-filled rise and inevitable fall of WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable startups, and the narcissists whose chaotic love made it all possible,” Apple said Friday in a statement on its website.
The tech giant, like other streamers, is adding new original shows at a furious pace to attract viewers in a crowded market. Apple also is working on a Martin Scorsese film “Killers of the Flower Moon” and a Ridley Scott movie “Kitbag,” among other projects.
WeWork was one of the most talked-about controversies in the tech industry in 2019. The company, which rents out slickly designed commercial office space, saw its valuation balloon to almost $50 billion and was expected to go public in one of the flashiest IPOs in the year. Following questions about its business model and behavior of its CEO, the valuation of the company plummeted and Neumann was fired.
Leto, who won an Oscar for his supporting role in “Dallas Buyers Club,” has dabbled in tech investment himself. In 2014, the actor invested in Reddit, a company now at the center of one of the wildest trading weeks in Wall Street history.