Everything We Know About the New Showtime Series ‘Super Pumped: A Battle for Uber’

Showtime is expanding its entertainment portfolio with Super Pumped: A Battle for Uber, an adaption of tech reporter and author Mike Issac’s book based on the rise and fall of Uber CEO and cofounder Travis Kalanick. Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt as the infamous tech bro, the impressive cast and crew also features award-winning talent in the likes of Uma Thurman, Hank Azaria, Elizabeth Shue, and Quentin Tarantino in a narrator role.

This is part of Showtime’s new anthology series Super Pumped, with a season two already in the works that will be focused on the working relationship between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

Read on for all the details on the new series that captures the messy story of the well-known ride-share app.

What is Super Pumped: A Battle for Uber about?

The eight episodes of this “ripped from the headlines” series will focus on the true story of the Uber founder, with an emphasis on the powerful business folk who worked alongside the popular ride-share app. Showtime’s synopsis states, “With a lift from venture capitalist Bill Gurley and board member Arianna Huffington, Kalanick takes a win-at-all-costs approach to forge the fledgling start-up into a multibillion-dollar tech titan. But every surge comes at a price—and as his visionary drive spirals out of control, it threatens to be the downfall of it all.”

Who’s playing whom?

Showtime pulled out the stops with this casting, and notable roles include:

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Travis Kalanick—Uber cofounder and former CEO
• Kyle Chandler as Bill Gurley—venture capitalist and former director on Uber’s board
• Babak Tafti as Emil Michael—former chief business officer at Uber
• Mousa Hussein Kraish as Fawzi Kamel—a former Uber driver
• Hank Azaria as Tim Cook—CEO of Apple
• Uma Thurman as Arianna Huffington—cofounder of the Huffington Post

What does the trailer tell us?

It’s clear this series will center on greed, power, technology, and ego. The line “We are disrupters because that is what revolution requires” is stated in one clip, pointing out the effort to find the behavior of tech founders excusable—even when their actions involve privacy violations and moral misconduct.

We see Gordon-Levitt as Kalanick tackle issues like this head-on, as his own ego gets in the way of ethical choices. In the trailer he remarks, “I will never back down from a fight, and if no one wants to believe in me, I’ll make them believe by being undeniable.”

The trailer also tells us once again that Uma Thurman is an amazing actor as she embodies Arianna Huffington down to the German accent.

When does the show air?

Airing on Sundays on Showtime and Paramount+ internationally, Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber first premieres on Sunday, February 27. at 10 p.m. E.T.