‘The Audacity’ puts the human side of Silicon Valley in the spotlight

Is it a time of Renaissance or a return to the Middle Ages for Silicon Valley in 2026? AMC Network’s ‘The Audacity’ aims to explore all the power, drama and influence radiating from the San Jose area.

Stars Billy Magnussen and Simon Helberg took part Variety‘s annual summit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 7 to preview the drama that will take place April 12 on AMC Network. Created by Jonathan Glatzer, an alumnus of AMC’s ‘Better Call Saul’ and HBO’s ‘Succession,’ ‘The Audacity’ centers on an aspiring tech CEO character played by Magnussen and a successful but deeply alienated founder and inventor who plays Helberg.

Dan McDermott, chief content officer of AMC Networks and president of AMC Studios, and executive producer of “The Audacity” Gina Mingacci also participated in the session featured on today’s episode of Variety‘Strictly Business’ podcast.

“In many ways, this show is a return to the roots of AMC storytelling with shows like ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘Killing Eve,’” McDermott explains. “We’re focusing on three primary things: one is lightning-in-a-bottle characters that can break out and be part of the cultural conversation. We can put them on a billboard and everyone will know this is Duncan [Magnussen’s character] from ‘The Dare.’ The second is that they take the audience to a unique world or subculture that we have not yet seen depicted in this specific way. And the third is that of course we want to be entertaining and fun, but we also want our shows to have real cultural meaning and baggage and to be about something important.

Magnussen’s enthusiasm for his role as leader of a start-up data mining company is palpable. He was immediately attracted to the subject and was impressed by Glatzer’s scripts.

“There are times in history where there is a Renaissance and Silicon Valley is one of those times in our modern age that defines humanity,” he noted. “What better place to make a dark comedy than in the place that our society is developing at this point. For me, twenty years in this industry, you see the script that Jonathan Glatzer wrote and you think, ‘Damn, this is fantastic.’ “

Helberg was asked if he did a lot of research into Big Tech and AI to bring his character to life. “I didn’t have to do any research on loneliness,” he joked.

“My character, Martin, is, like a lot of people probably in the Valley, a bit of a maladaptive genius. Went to Stanford at 15, made a ton of money early in tech, and now he spends every waking minute locked in his garage with an AI companion he’s developing to help alienated teenagers,” Helberg explained. “But he has his own estranged teenage daughter who he completely neglects, and so does everyone else around him. He’s a bit of a recluse. And there’s loneliness in the hearts of all the characters, and they’re all trying to connect, and they’re trying to connect through technology, which has some pitfalls.”

“The Audacity” is a big change for AMC and its producers at a time when it’s extremely difficult to launch entirely original concepts amid the flurry of IP-based material swirling around linear and streaming TV. Mingacci, a former AMC executive who produced the BBC America/AMC drama “Killing Eve,” said a high hurdle is all the more reason to pursue new and distinctive projects.

“It was basically the same challenge as ‘Killing Eve,’ meaning we don’t have as much money as everyone else, not as much time to make it, but you want to be here. You want to play here and hopefully we delivered on that,” Mingacci said. “There’s no one better than AMC to bring morally complex characters to life. And those are very specific shows that are difficult to make right now.”

The episode also includes highlights of Variety‘s CES conversation with Anthony Wood, founder, chairman and CEO of Roku.

(Pictured at top: ‘The Audacity’ starring Simon Helberg and Billy Magnussen, with Dan McDermott of AMC Networks)