Hulu has finally given us a glimpse of Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes in its own take on the real-life Silicon Valley drama. The Dropout is a limited series that centers around Holmes’ fraudulent blood-testing startup, Theranos, and is based on an ABC podcast that goes by the same name.
Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon was originally supposed to take the leading role, but she reportedly dropped out of the production in February. Seyfried was confirmed to take McKinnon’s place back in March. So far, it looks like Seyfried fits the role quite nicely; she sports the same updo, red lipstick, and signature black turtleneck that Holmes is known for. Naveen Andrews, who previously starred in Lost, will play Sunny Balwani, Holmes’ ex-boyfriend and former Theranos president.
Just before things came crashing down, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, and Holmes was considered the youngest self-made female billionaire. The startup garnered funding from hopeful investors, who believed in the company’s non-existent ability to accurately perform dozens of tests using just a drop of blood. Holmes now stands trial for 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Rebecca Jarvis, Victoria Thompson, and Taylor Dunn, the same trio behind The Dropout podcast, will be returning as executive producers on the show alongside showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether. The series is set to make its debut on Hulu on March 3rd, 2022. Apple announced Bad Blood earlier this month, a movie that also follows the Theranos saga and stars Jennifer Lawrence as Holmes.
