Emmy nominee Andrew Garfield will star in the upcoming limited series Hot Air. He’s headlining the series by playing Richard Branson, the famous British entrepreneur. The industry is excited about Hot Air, with multiple streaming platforms interested in the project. The limited series comes from Universal International Studios, with David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train) in the director’s chair.
The six-part Hot Air is written by Jon Croker (Paddington 2) and based on the book “Dirty Tricks” by award-winning investigative journalist Martyn Gregory. It tells the story of billionaire Branson and the fascinating, outrageous rise of Virgin Airways.
According to Deadline, Branson launched Virgin Atlantic in 1984 with one leased airplane. By 1990, the company started threatening British Airways’ dominance in the UK market after reserving landing space at London Heathrow Airport. In response, BA launched a “dirty tricks” campaign, with its staffers using passenger records and impersonating Virgin employees to gain inside information on the upstart competitor and persuade Virgin customers to switch to BA.
Tipped off by a BA insider, Branson complained to the European Commission about BA’s tactics. In response, BA created “Operation Barbara,” planting fabricated negative media stories about Virgin Atlantic. Branson sued, and the high-profile case was settled on the eve of the trial, with BA apologizing and paying Virgin’s legal costs plus damages.
In addition to his starring role, Garfield produces with Croker and 87North (Leitch, Kelly McCormick, and Dan Seligmann) and UK-based Two&Two (Babak Anvari and Lucan Toh); StoryFirst (Michael Grade, Peter Gerwe, and Ivan Dunleavy).
After treating fans to two knock-out hits with Tick, Tick… Boom! and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Garfield is on top of the world. His role as Detective Jeb Pyre for FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven has earned him an Emmy nomination, an overdue honor for the actor.
Are you interested in learning more about Hot Air? Which streaming giant do you think will distribute the project? Let’s hear your predictions in the comments section below.
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