ET exclusively debuts a first look from the upcoming hybrid docu-drama -- and there's an Uber joke!
It's time to go back to the '90s.
NatGeo's upcoming tech hybrid docu-drama, Valley of the Boom, tells the story of three different companies whose founders were trying to change the world using the new technology of the internet. There was Netscape, who pioneered the first commercial web browser and launched the "browser wars" with Microsoft. There was theglobe.com, the social networking site built by college students. And there was Pixelon, founded by a con artist on the run who reinvented himself in Silicon Valley via the streaming video company.
Like NatGeo's hybrid series, Mars, Valley of the Boom infuses the complements the scripted drama elements by incorporating interviews with real-life experts and subjects from the era, like the founders of the three aforementioned companies and figures like Mark Cuban and Arianna Huffington.
In ET's exclusive sneak peek from the series' second episode (airing Jan. 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT), New Girl alum Lamorne Morris, who plays investment banker Darrin and the show's narrator, sets the stage for what viewers can expect in the six-part miniseries.
"My name is Darrin, Sagittarius. My turn-ons? Check it out. I like long walks on the beach, I like private jets, Milton Friedman-style free market capitalism," he says with a laugh, before turning his attention to the guys behind theglobe.com. "Aren't they just adorable? It's easy to look at 'em now and just know that they were in the right track -- at least that they were in the right zone. I mean, these dudes basically invented Facebook. But you can keep your pithy comment, Mark Zuckerberg. You got a lot on your plate right now. Shhh!"
"But what if we were talking not about social networking, but Bitcoin or self-driving cars or something that geeks are geeking about today. Would you just know that it was right then?" he asks. "Got you, didn't I?"
When Darrin takes that as his moment to hitch a cab ride, he comes thisclose to actually pulling off the impressive cue, only the taxi drives away as if he wasn't standing there curbside. "Hard to get a taxi around here. I should create an app for that. Ehh, it'll never work," he mutters as he jumps into the cab. Little does he know.... Watch the exclusive sneak peek above.
Valley of the Boom launches with a two-hour premiere Sunday, Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NatGeo.
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