Summary
Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway play rock star billionaires in another entertaining series about business scandals.
This recap of the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed season 1, episode 1 does not contain spoilers.
The film and TV industry can’t seem to get enough of stories fixated on money and scandal at the moment. Like fashion, Hollywood goes through trends and periods of saturation. WeCrashed, the latest Apple TV+ series, leans into the hottest zeitgeists, ticking off a checklist of ‘must have’ talking points. For starters, it’s based on a hit podcast (they’re in vogue right now), with an A-list cast, which explores our latest obsessions: greed, money, and business scandal. Netflix has poured millions into the billionaire con-artist with The Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna, whereas other streaming platforms are focusing on the billionaire entrepreneur (see Hulu’s The Dropout). WeCrashed continues this trend, channeling the Zuckerberg phenomenon, with huge success.
WeCrashed season 1, episode 1 recap
Boasting two of Hollywood’s biggest heavy hitters, the Apple TV+ original stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as billionaire, power couple Adam and Rebekah Neumann. The premiere tells their origin story, focusing on the creation of WeWork. Like all rags to riches tales, it’s based on an ambitious and unfairly ignored genius, whose great idea just can’t seem to build any traction. Adam Neumann is an optimistic, lively Israeli with tons of entrepreneurial ideas. These consist of: knee pads for babies, collapsible high heels, and a communal living space (pretty much a dorm for adults). Unfortunately, no one will invest and he’s seen as a laughing stock by his peers.
Enter Miguel McKelvey (played by newcomer Kyle Marvin), an architect who believes wholeheartedly in Adam’s vision. Miguel finds Adam some much-needed office space and quits his job to support the mastermind’s next big scheme. Adam takes the communal living space idea and twists it slightly, pitching the communal workspace to their landlord. Leto’s eager businessman is confident and strategic, gaining a new investor from just a few pages of plans. They upscale the business and it quickly becomes a small success, but Adam has larger dreams.
Alongside this exciting start-up storyline, directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Crazy, Stupid, Love.) craft a sweet romance for their two iconic leads. Adam and Rebekah are actually quite wholesome and hopeful as the billionaire lovebirds, if a little new-age with their hippy values. Rebekah talks of manifesting your dreams and they both live a highbrow lifestyle of veganism and indoor sunglasses wearing (you know the type). They support one another’s dreams and their offbeat chemistry works wonders. I mean, we all just need Anne Hathaway to tell us we’re a supernova at least once a day, right?
“This Is Where It Begins” makes for a stellar opening episode, introducing the cast and their many complications with style. This subject matter may have been done before, numerous times in fact, however, WeCrashed has the star power and the intrigue to keep viewers coming back for more.
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