The Swedish docudrama series The Playlist on Netflix is based on the book Spotify Untold by Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud. It tells the fictional story of how one of the largest music streaming companies in the world, Spotify, started.
It tells the story of Daniel Ek, an aspiring tech entrepreneur, and Martin Lorentzon, his business partner, who are trying to transform the music business by founding Spotify, a free service that allows people to legally stream music.
The series, directed by Luke Franklin, tackles many common topics in the world of entrepreneurship, such as the problems involved and all the work that goes on behind the scenes. So if you like shows about starting a business or what it’s like to work, you might want to check out some of the suggestions below. Most of these shows, including The Playlist, are available on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
Succession (2018- ) (2018- )
Directed by Jesse Armstrong, the HBO show Succession is a dark comedy about the Roy family who own the world’s largest media and entertainment company, Waystar RoyCo. Things take an unexpected turn when Logan Roy quits his job because he doesn’t know how his health is doing. So the owners of the company, who don’t work well together, argue about who should be in charge. Although “Succession” is about an already well-known company, it is similar to “The Playlist” in that it depicts a workplace and the politics that are common in business.
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Girl Boss (2017) (2017)
Based on Sophia Amoruso’s 2014 autobiographical book #Girlboss, Netflix’s Girlboss is a comedy series created by Kay Cannon that, like The Playlist, tells the story of a company’s beginnings. The story is about Sophia Amoruso, an outcast who discovers her passion for fashion. She follows her dream and works hard to climb the ladder until she is a successful businesswoman. Both “Girlboss” and “The Playlist” tell the story of two companies that didn’t seem to be on the right track, but thrived despite whatever problems their founders were struggling with.
Startup (2016-2018) (2016-2018)
The crime series “StartUp” on Crackle was directed by Ben Ketai. It is about the launch of GenCoin, a technology idea based on digital currencies. Although GenCoin is brilliant, it has caused a lot of trouble for falling into the hands of three strangers who are not tech entrepreneurs. In The Playlist, Daniel Ek and his team go through many of the same issues and problems shown in GenCoin.
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Silicon Valley (2014-2019)
HBO’s Silicon Valley is a comedy show that pokes fun at the tech-industrial culture of famous Silicon Valley. It was made by Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. The story is about a young programmer named Richard Hendricks who is on the rise and wants to start his own business called Pied Piper. Like The Playlist, Silicon Valley shows, down to the funny bits, how entrepreneurs deal with higher authorities and their competitors.
Very Excited: The Battle for Uber (2022-)
Showtime’s Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber is a biographical drama based on the 2019 book of the same name by Mike Isaac. It was created by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The story is told from the perspective of Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber and shows the early days of the global ride-hailing company. The series not only follows the beginnings of Uber, but also Travis’ downfall when he is fired from his own company. Like The Playlist, Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber shows what startup and tech culture looks like.
We Crashed (2022) (2022)
WeCrashed, a biographical drama series on Apple TV+, is based on Wondery’s podcast, WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork. It tells the story of Adam and Rebekah Neumann, a narcissistic couple who start a coworking space company called WeWork. Although WeWork was one of the most valuable startups in the world, it failed after some financial news was released. Both “WeCrashed” and “The Playlist” are based on real-life startups, and the founders of both companies have to deal with their problems.
The Quitter (2022)
The Dropout is a Hulu biographical drama series directed by Elizabeth Meriwether and based on the ABC News podcast of the same name and hosted by Rebecca Jarvis. The story follows Elizabeth Holmes and how she tries to shake up the healthcare industry after dropping out of college. She starts a new business called Theranos, but her shady business practices are soon exposed. Like The Playlist, The Dropout is about how a person and their team plan to start a successful business.
The White Collar Crime True Story TV show is big this year. With Inventing Anna, The Tinder Swindler, Super Pumped and Pam & Tommy already out in the market, and Bad Vegan and WeCrashed on the way, there are plenty of stories ranging from ignorance to mismanagement to outright malice and outright fraud . While they’re all frustrating, Hulu’s The Dropout, which chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, might be the best.
Amanda Seyfried, who received her first Oscar nomination for her role in David Fincher’s Mank last year, takes center stage as Sherlock Holmes and shines from minute one. Seyfried is 36 years old, but she plays Holmes convincingly at every age, from pre-college (right before she went to Stanford, where she eventually dropped out and became the title character) to staged footage from her own 2017 testimony, which is owned was in the podcast that The Dropout is based on.
Seyfried has always been a versatile actor, starring in films such as Mean Girls, Mamma Mia! and Jennifer’s Body. But turning Elizabeth Holmes, an ambiguous, habitual liar, into a character we don’t necessarily like but understand might be her best acting effort yet.
But Seyfried isn’t the only star in The Dropout. Naveen Andrews, who most people know as Sayid from Lost, is the only other regular cast member. Andrews plays Holmes’ business and romantic partner, Sunny Balwani, and he does a great job. Balwani has a reputation for getting angry easily and annoying other people at work. The Dropout and Andrews don’t leave out that part of the character, but we also see the softer side of him that would have appealed to a young Elizabeth Holmes.
The Dropout revolves around Seyfried and Andrews, but the show also has plenty of guest stars like William H. Macy, Laurie Metcalf, Stephen Fry, and Alan Ruck, adding color, characters, goofs, and skepticism to a true story that’s sure to interest you and you maybe even a little scary.
On the Hulu/Disney Plus show The Dropout, Amanda Seyfried dons Elizabeth Holmes’ signature black turtleneck to play the disgraced former CEO, who was found guilty of fraud earlier this year.
The first three episodes of the miniseries are available to stream now. They tell the story of how the biotech entrepreneur fell out of favor despite saying her now-defunct company Theranos would change the world of medicine forever. The 38-year-old, who gave birth to her first child last year, is currently awaiting sentencing.
Seyfried has said that she didn’t meet Holmes before playing her because she wanted to give her own version of the real person.
The actress said on Good Morning America, “I’ve never been too concerned that we were going in the wrong direction because we did so much research and Liz Meriwether was in charge.” That’s how we tell the story, and then life moves on. And you think, “You want to be involved, but you don’t want to be too involved because you want to be able to help the story.”
She also said that playing a real person is exciting: “It’s very exciting to take the footage and try to act like someone that there’s a model out there. I feel bad for saying that because it’s a real person with real consequences and a real life and I hope she does well, but as an actor it was very exciting.”
Seyfried told WhatToWatch how she became Holmes: “Holmes was so compelling and able to attract investors because she believed in it herself. Psychologically, if you’re dying to believe something, you can.
“Elizabeth is still so mysterious, but I think this is the only project that really answers questions. It takes a lot of guessing, but guesswork is based on a lot of facts. By doing that, you gave us a glimpse into a world we didn’t know before, and now people want to know why she did these things. People are curious about your reasons.”
She also said, “But I had to work really hard on the depth of the voice because I speak so much higher than Holmes.”
After being nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 2020 biopic Mank, Seyfried has a chance to rejoin the awards show with The Dropout.
She will be joined by a star-studded cast that includes Lost’s Naveen Andrews and Stephen Fry, Dylan Minnette and Laurie Metcalf in supporting roles (Lady Bird).
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