Ever watch a TV show set in a city and ask, “How accurate do they portray a certain place? How accurate do they portray an industry?” How accurate does Breaking Bad portray New Mexico? How accurate does Empire portray the hip-hop industry? The question being asked is, “How real is TV show Silicon Valley?
If you ask most, Silicon Valley is scary accurate. Even Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says the show is so accurate it’s not a comedy; it’s a documentary. Box co-founder Aaron Levie tweeted, “Good news: it’s accurate. Bad news: it’s accurate.” Was that the goal? Some even guess which character spoofs which Silicon Valley personality. Who would fictional Hooli founder Gavin Belson be? Marc Benioff, Larry Page and Larry Ellison are all viable candidates. And what about his eccentric rival and philosopher Peter Gregory? Could that be PayPal founder Peter Theil? Theil did put his money where his philosophy is. He stood by Hulk Hogan in a very high profile case. Who could Laurie Bream be? On the show, she’s a venture capitalist partner. She’s a woman in a male dominated Silicon Valley world. Maybe this is what makes her extremely cutthroat. Could this either be Mary Meeker, Marissa Meyer, or Ellen Pao? Could Laurie Bream be a combination of all three?
This is what makes Silicon Valley such a hit. Yes, the comedy is very good. But character accuracy is what makes the show relevant. Even real-life tech leaders ask, “Could that be me?” When I watch the show, I’m asking, “Hmmm. Could that be…”. Silicon Valley does a good job portraying personalities. It seems to do a good job integrating tech based events in story lines. It doesn’t blatantly do this. However, they take various issues going on in the tech world today and subtly incorporate them in the show? How accurate do you think this show is? Can you see yourself in Silicon Valley (I mean the TV show)?