Here’s what TV shows CEOs and tech execs say they are watching these days

Even high-profile CEOs make time to unwind.

While some C-Suite executives read books or enjoy an evening cigar, others turn on the TV and dive into some of pop culture’s most beloved series.

From “New Girl” to “Landman,” here are the shows CEOs say they are watching these days.

Sam Altman

When he’s not overseeing OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker, CEO Sam Altman is tuning in to “Pantheon.”

“Pantheon” is an AMC+ original animated series about Maddie Kim, a teenager who discovers that her deceased father’s consciousness was uploaded to the cloud. The show’s themes — like what it means to be human in a world with superpowered conscious machines — are highly relevant to Altman’s own career.

“pantheon is such a good show!” Altman wrote on X earlier this month.

An X user asked Altman if GPT-5, the company’s latest chatbot model, recommended the show. Altman used the opportunity to tease the new model’s abilities and shared a screenshot of his conversation on X.

“turns out yes!” Altman wrote.

The cast includes Paul Dano, Aaron Eckhart, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Daniel Dae Kim. The series premiered in 2022 and is now available to watch on Netflix.

Dan Clancy

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said he carves out time in his evenings to watch television.

“I’ll watch TV shows, but I don’t watch many movies anymore,”Clancy told Business Insider in July. “I just watched ‘Paradise.'”

“Paradise,” starring Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden, hooked audiences when it premiered on Hulu in January. In the series, a secret service agent investigates the murder of a former US president — but that’s not the biggest twist (no spoilers)!

Clancy said he also liked “Your Friends and Neighbors” and “The Penguin.”

“Your Friends and Neighbors” is an Apple TV+ crime series starring Jon Hamm and Olivia Munn that debuted in April. It’s about a hedge fund manager who begins burglarizing his wealthy neighbors’ homes after losing his job.

In “The Penguin,” which hit HBO Max in 2024, audiences learns how the notorious DC villain rose to prominence in Gotham’s underworld. Colin Farrell, who reprised his role as Oswald Cobblepot, won several awards for the miniseries.

“A little bit of drama, but not a horror thing,” Clancey told Business Insider.

Mike Wirth

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said he watched Taylor Sheridan’s newest TV drama, “Landman,” during an interview on the “Bloomberg Talks” podcast in February.

“Landman,” which premiered in 2024 on Paramount+, drops viewers into the high-pressure world of West Texas’ oil industry. Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, and Demi Moore are among the show’s cast.

However, Wirth told the outlet that some parts of the show exaggerate the realities of being a landman.

“It is wonderful entertainment,” Wirth said. “Billy Bob Thornton is an amazing actor. And it’s drama, right? And then you need a little bit of a storyline. And so, you know, there are certain aspects of it that are accurate and others that are probably just a touch exaggerated.”

Marc Metrick

Marc Metrick, the CEO of Saks Global, is a fan of comedies.

“’30 Rock’ is my show if I want to fall asleep or do other things while watching,” Metrick told Bloomberg this month. “Alec Baldwin’s deadpan delivery is still laugh-out-loud funny.”

“30 Rock,” a popular sitcom that aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013, follows the head writer of a sketch-comedy show as she navigates a new boss and the cast’s unending hijinks.

The series starred Baldwin, Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan, and Jack McBrayer.

Dave Peacock

Advantage Solutions CEO Dave Peacock told Business Insider in January that he ends his days streaming TV series, watching sports, or reading.

“We stream a lot, as I’m a massive fan of most genres (excluding horror),” Peacock said. “Sports documentaries are some of my favorites, but I also like ‘Shrinking,’ ‘The Diplomat,’ and old comedies like ‘New Girl.'”

“Shrinking,” an Apple TV+ series that premiered in 2023, is about a grieving therapist who takes a new approach to his clients and everyone else in his life: brutal honesty. Jason Segel leads the cast alongside Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford.

Netflix debuted “The Diplomat” — starring Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, and David Gyasi — in 2023. The political drama follows a US diplomat attempting to balance her new position as ambassador to the UK and her strained marriage.

“New Girl” aired on Fox from 2011 to 2018, but is now available on several streaming sites, like Hulu and Apple TV+. The sitcom revolves around a teacher, played by Zooey Deschanel, who moves into a Los Angeles-based loft with three men. The cast included Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone, and Damon Wayans Jr.

Elon Musk

Although Tesla CEO Elon Musk hasn’t spoken publicly about his TV viewing habits, actor Kumail Nanjiani offered insight during Mike Birbiglia’s “Working It Out” podcast this month.

Nanjiani played Dinesh Chugtai on HBO’s comedy series “Silicon Valley,” which aired from 2014 to 2019. The series, which also starred Thomas Middleitch and T.J. Miller, follows a programmer’s hilarious quest to start and maintain his startup in Silicon Valley.

During the podcast, Nanjiani said Musk wasn’t a fan of the series.

“He didn’t like the show, “Nanjiani said. “He was like, ‘All the parties I go to are much cooler than these parties.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, man, you’re one of the richest people in the world. We’re like losers on the show. Of course, your parties are better than my parties.'”

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