Branson trailer: The HBO documentary series looks at risk-taking billionaire Richard Branson, a tycoon who “lives on danger”

EXCLUSIVE: We have your first look at bransonHBO’s upcoming four-part documentary series about high-flying tycoon Richard Branson, who built an empire around the Virgin brand.

Award-winning filmmaker Chris Smith directed the series, which premieres Thursday, December 1 on HBO, with new episodes debuting on each of the following three Thursdays. The series is also available to stream on HBO Max.

“Smith … takes us on a vast and intimate journey spanning 70 years, from Branson’s upbringing in Britain to being a fiery, tough mother, to his pursuit of extreme personal daring to both promote and serve his company’s brands as a… Fuel his insatiable, lifelong thirst for high-stakes adventure,” HBO said in a statement.branson portrays the ups and downs of a man driven by risk-taking in both his business and personal life, and reflects on the costs and rewards of his lifelong relentless optimism and pushing the boundaries.”

The main interview for the series took place 16 days before Branson’s launch on a suborbital flight aboard a Virgin Galactic rocket, making him “the first passenger to reach space in his own spacecraft.” Branson defeated Jeff Bezos, who reached the edge of space nine days after Branson’s mission in a Blue Origin rocket (Bezos’ rocket carried him to a slightly higher altitude than Branson had).

Branson’s great business achievements are explored in the series, as is his upbringing in a family that encouraged risk-taking.

“He thrives on danger. It’s a continuation of his childhood,” Branson’s wife Joan notes in the trailer. Branson himself says: “Having dyslexia and leaving school at 15, I had a lot to prove.”

It didn’t take him long to prove himself. He became a millionaire “at the age of 22 with the massive success of Virgin Records,” HBO noted. “His launch of the Virgin Atlantic airline soon followed, along with a host of other Virgin-branded companies with varying degrees of success, culminating in the launch of Virgin Galactic, his commercial space venture, in 2004.”

Smith has become one of the most successful directors in documentary film and is nominated for an Oscar this year sr.his film about actor-director Robert Downey Sr. and his relationship with his son Robert Downey Jr. Smith released the Netflix documentary series earlier this year. Bad vegan, about a New York restaurant owner whose business collapses after becoming involved with a mysterious man who claims he can grant immortality to her dog. Additional credits include the 2021 HBO documentary series Wave of 100 feet, about big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara; 2018 Fireworks, about the Caribbean music event that ended in fiasco; Y of 2017im & Andy: The Great Afterlifeon Jim Carrey’s starring role as comedian Andy Kaufman and the classic 1999 documentary American film.

Before the bransonIn addition to speaking to the tycoon, Smith also spoke to those closest to him: “…[T]The series features his colleagues and collaborators as well as insights from business journalists and industry experts. Also included are intimate interviews with his family, including revealing extracts from conversations with Joan, his wife of 33 years, his sisters, daughter Holly and son Sam, as well as an extensive personal archive of his late mother Eve, whose living presence plays in Branson’s life still plays a big role.

The film is directed by Smith and executive produced by Kate Noble. HBO executive producers are Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, and executive producer Tina Nguyen.