The latest in a recent run of shows inspired by real-life falls from grace (like Inventing Anna, based on ‘fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin; and The Dropout, about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes), the eight-episode series will debut on Apple TV+ on 18 March. A press release offers an intriguing synopsis of the show, relating: ‘Inspired by actual events – and the love story at the centre of it all. WeWork grew from a single coworking space into a global brand worth $47 billion in under a decade. Then, in less than a year, its value plummeted. What happened?’
So, what did happen? Israeli-born businessman Adam Neumann co-founded WeWork with his friend Miguel McKelvey in 2010, inspired by the idea that traditional office working was becoming redundant – feeding the demand for cool, comfortable spaces for the modern worker, complete with perks like free beer and access to special events. After starting out with just one location in SoHo in New York, the company grew at a stratospheric rate, attracting major investors like JP Morgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group, and the Harvard Corporation, establishing hundreds of co-working spaces around the world, and attaining a valuation of $47 billion by 2019.
Cracks soon began to show, however, not only in the business model, but the questionable company culture (said to be almost cult-like), and the behaviour of CEO Neumann himself, described by the Guardian in 2019 as ‘the tall, long-haired, barefoot, meat-banning, weed-smoking, tequila-drinking, Kabbalah-studying, experimental school-opening Paltrow-cousin-in-law and founder’.
The Guardian also cited ‘alleged self-dealing and self-enrichment by Neumann’, along with rumours that ‘private jet trips may have involved some incidental transportation of marijuana across international borders, his wife may have fired employees for their bad vibes, and the company may have ended a meeting announcing layoffs with a performance by a member of Run-DMC.’ He resigned as CEO in September that year, relinquishing his majority voting control following pressure from investors in light of disclosures from the company’s disappointing S-1 filing.
All this paints Neumann as a fascinating subject, set to be portrayed by Jared Leto in the upcoming drama, while his wife Rebekah – involved in her husband’s company as chief brand and impact officer, as well as overseeing its education programme WeGrow – will be played by Anne Hathaway. The two stars are also on the team of executive producers for the show, which has been created and written by Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello (known for their work on hits like the US version of The Office; and X-Men: First Class, respectively).
