What’s Worth Watching: A Toxic Investor in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley, “Bad Money” (Sunday, April 26, 10/9c, HBO)

Of all of HBO’s comedies, Silicon Valley is the one I find myself wishing were being presented in Netflix style: as in, all at once. Not only is Mike Judge’s satire of the high-tech fast lane truly hilarious as a rhapsody of geek anxiety, it’s also telling a ripping good story with a propulsive what-next appeal. So it was last week, when socially awkward hot commodity Richard (priceless Thomas Middleditch) took a clandestine meeting with his ruthless rival/nemesis Gavin Belson (Matt Ross), who offered to buy out Richard’s nascent Pied Piper operation.

Welcome to the fallout, as Richard’s misfit team recoils at the prospect of sleeping, however profitably, with the enemy. But when Richard instead falls for the pitch of toxic-jerk billionaire Russ Hanneman (Chris Diamontopoulus), the reaction in certain quarters is just as extreme. What’s a maladroit genius to do?