According to Deadline, Billy Magnussen (The Franchise, Made for Love, Tell Me a Story) has been cast as the lead in AMC and AMC+’s forthcoming Silicon Valley drama, created by Jonathan Glatzer (Succession, Better Call Saul, Bloodline). He joins Sarah Goldberg (Barry, The Dark Knight Rises, Industry), who was previously announced as part of the cast.
Produced by AMC Studios, the series is set in the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley, where corporate culture, innovative labs,and elite private schools collide. The narrative follows a tech CEO, played by Magnussen, who fancies himself the “inventor of the future,” and his self-serving “performance psychologist,” portrayed by Goldberg. The pair becomes tangled in a scandal after exploiting personal data. Magnussen’s character, Duncan, is the co-founder of a data-mining company. Glatzer and Gina Mingacci (Kiling Eve, Beautiful Girls, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead) will executive produce the show, which is one of several high-profile Silicon Valley-themed dramas to be greenlit and the first to receive approval.
In a previous interview with Deadline, Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, states, “[Glatzer] is a massive talent and AMC is lucky to be the home of this, his first series creation brought to life. The show, which chronicles the lives of characters creating the world we will all inhabit, is right here and right now. Truth is stranger than fiction, especially here.”
Magnussen’s recent work includes starring in HBO’s satirical superhero series The Franchise by Sam Mendes (1917, Road to Perdition, Skyfall, Revolutionary Road) and Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin, Veep, The Thick of It). He will also appear in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey with Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street, Barbie) and take on the role of Pleakley in Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch. His other recent films include Lift and Road House. Magnussen is represented by UTA, Anonymous Content and Sloan, Offer, Weber, and Dern.