Silicon Valley was supposed to be satire. In 2026, it plays more like a warning. In a look back on the iconic 2010s HBO comedy, co-creator Mike Judge and exec producer Alec Berg reflect on how “incredibly intentional” they were in making tech startup life feel plausible. But what’s wilder is how close to reality some of their storylines actually got, from AI to the ruthless capitalism of the real-world Silicon Valley. Judge and Berg recall the real-life tech titans who informed the show, the Stanford math professor who helped them construct academically sound dick jokes, and the making of the series' mockumentary-style finale. As Berg puts it: “It’s beyond satire.”

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