The trial of Elizabeth Holmes recently concluded, but don’t expect to stop hearing about the former Theranos CEO any time soon. Hollywood is enthralled by the story of the tech icon, who was recently found guilty of four charges of defrauding investors, and several projects about her downfall are in development.
The first to hit screens will be “The Dropout,” a new Hulu miniseries starring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes. “The Dropout” debuts on the streaming service March 3, and Hulu has released the first trailer.
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“The Dropout” is adapted from a nonfiction podcast of the same name, produced by ABC. It also stars Naveen Andrews as Holmes’ business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Laurie Metcalf plays Phyllis Gardner, one of Holmes’ professors at Stanford. William H. Macy, Stephen Fry, and Elizabeth Marvel are also set to appear. The series hails from “New Girl” creator Elizabeth Meriwether, who serves as showrunner. Kate McKinnon was previously attached to star as Holmes, but left the project and was replaced by Seyfried.
Holmes rose to prominence in the biotech world after claiming to develop a technology that could deliver accurate blood tests with much smaller amounts of blood than previously required. Her company, Theranos, soared to a $9 billion valuation, and she became one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world. Holmes was a media darling, frequently held up by the press as an exemplary woman in a male-dominated field and a role model for girls interested in tech.
However, her downfall was swift when a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Holmes’ claims about her technology were inaccurate, and that Theranos often did not even use their own machines when conducting blood tests. Holmes’ story has prompted many debates about journalism in America, as the media industry has faced criticism for doing so much to elevate someone who was so unproven and ultimately revealed to be guilty of fraud.
Those interested in the Theranos story have plenty to look forward to, as Adam McKay is also set to direct “Bad Blood,” a movie about the saga starring Jennifer Lawrence as Holmes. The “Don’t Look Up” director recently revealed that Lawrence is already working on her version of Holmes’ famously unique voice.
Watch the trailer for “The Dropout” below.
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