Javier Bardem to Play a Billionaire in HBO’s The Spread, From an Ozark Co-Creator

HBO has officially ordered the drama series The Spread, with Javier Bardem set to star. The actor will also serve as an executive producer on the project, which is set in Miami against the world of hedge funds, vast fortunes and the fight for financial influence.

At the center of the story is an ambitious billionaire who surrounds himself with talented, hungry and potentially dangerous people. His goal is to turn Miami into a new financial hub of the United States, a kind of “Wall Street South,” and shift part of the country’s economic influence to Florida.

In HBO’s official announcement, the series is described as a story about a world where big money, elite hedge funds, fierce competition, power and nightlife collide in one city.

The series comes from an Ozark creator and the director of Kingsman

The Spread is written by Bill Dubuque and Sean Sansiveri. Dubuque is best known as one of the creators of Ozark and as the screenwriter of The Accountant and The Accountant 2.

Matthew Vaughn, who directed Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, will direct and executive produce. For a filmmaker who has spent most of his career in feature films, The Spread marks a notable move toward a major television project.

Fifth Season TV Studio is producing with HBO. The executive producer list also includes Brad Weston of Makeready, Ian Stratford and Michael Bloom of Topic Studios.

Major streamers competed for The Spread

The project drew attention before it was officially ordered. According to TheWrap, Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount+ and Apple TV also vied for the series, but HBO ultimately landed the rights.

What’s more, the network ordered a full series right away, skipping the traditional pilot stage. That signals fairly high confidence from HBO in the project and its creative team.

The company has not yet revealed the episode count, the start date for filming or the premiere window. The rest of the cast also remains unknown.

Based on its description, The Spread looks like more than just another financial drama. The creators plan to use modern Miami as a character in its own right — a city that has indeed seen more and more investment capital and financial firms move in in recent years. Against that backdrop, Bardem’s character’s fight to turn the city into a new center of American money could become one of the show’s main themes.