Jesse Armstrong Leans Into the Bro-ness of Billionaires in ‘Mountainhead’ First Look

Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef also star in the "Succession" creator's HBO film.

“Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong is once again satirizing the uber rich, and this time, he’s leaning into the bro-ness of billionaires. Armstrong returns to HBO with original film “Mountainhead” about a group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis.

“Mountainhead” stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef, and “Saturday Night” scene-stealer Cory Michael Smith as the core friend group. Additional supporting cast members include Hadley Robinson, Andy Daly, Ali Kinkade, Daniel Oreskes, David Thompson, Ami MacKenzie, and Ava Kostia.

“Mountainhead” is Armstrong’s feature directorial debut; he writes, directs, and executive produces the film, which finishes production this week in Park City, Utah. The project also reunites seven-time Emmy winner and Oscar-nominated Armstrong with his fellow “Succession” producers Frank Rich, Lucy Prebble, and producer/director Mark Mylod. Both Rich and Armstrong have overall deals at HBO.

Armstrong wrapped “Succession” in 2023 after four seasons. The series accumulated 75 Emmy nominations and 19 wins. The “Succession” finale also set a series viewership record. While Armstrong has not publicly denied a possible “Succession” spinoff, series alum Matthew Macfadyen previously said at the Emmys that it’s “highly unlikely.”

“I would say, ‘Never say never,’ but it’s highly unlikely,” Macfadyen said of a follow-up. “But it will depend on what [creator] Jesse Armstrong wants to do, but I think Jesse’s instinct, and all our instincts, is that it ended in just the right place. And we sort of didn’t tie it up, we just left [them]… to carry on in their strange and crappy world. So as nice as it would be to work with everybody again, I do think it would be strange to do a spinoff.”

As for the film side of his career, Armstrong previously landed a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for his 2009 film “In The Loop,” which he co-wrote with “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci, Simon Blackwell, and Tony Roche, who now is an EP on “Mountainhead.”

“Mountainhead” is executive produced by Armstrong, Rich, Prebble, Mylod, Roche, Jon Brown, Will Tracy, and Jill Footlick.

The “Mountainhead” cast have all had buzzy recent years: Carell is starring in Tina Fey’s “The Four Seasons” series, and Schwartzman appeared in 2024’s “Between the Temples” and “Queer.”

“Mountainhead” premieres May 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. Check out more first look images below.