2022 is set to explore some of the most intriguing true crime stories of our time—from Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna to Michelle Carter in The Girl From Plainville, these stories, both featuring a female lead at the centre of a court battle, are inspired by shocking alleged events that made headlines across the world.
The latest television series set to bring us the same intrigue is the story of Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu’s The Dropout. The story first exploded into the mainstream in 2015 when the Wall Street Journal published an exposé on the alleged dealings of her now-defunct business, Theranos. Subsequently, a 2021 podcast series hosted by Rebecca Jarvis explored the intricacies of the court case against the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.
Now, the mini-series starring Amanda Seyfried as the highly strung, turtle-neck bearing CEO, will depict some of the near unbelievable alleged events that led to her court battle.
Here, everything you need to know about The Dropout.
Who is Elizabeth Holmes, and what is The Dropout based on?
The Dropout recounts the story of Elizabeth Holmes, who founded the former startup company, Theranos. After dropping out of Stanford University, Holmes set out to create a company that could revolutionise blood tests by innovating the ways blood could be drawn and tested, subsequently lowering healthcare costs.
As the product, named the Edison device, was sent to market, the company made a number of claims about its capabilities, including that it could run over 300 tests on one machine. Official documents pertaining to the company also claimed it had the backing of medical giants, Pfizer and GSK.
The only thing was, none of this was true. Edison machines could only run eight or so tests, it had never been endorsed by Pfizer or GSK and, after it was deployed to 40 different Walgreen stores, it produced inaccurate results for its users.
After the Wall Street Journal published a shocking exposé on the inaccuracies, a federal investigation led to Holmes’ indictment where she was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud.
To this day, Holmes vehemently denies these allegations, claiming that she did not know the technology developed under her company was unreliable and inaccurate.
Where is Elizabeth Holmes now?
Elizabeth Holmes is not currently in custody, and is currently residing in San Fransisco with her husband, William Evans. The pair married in 2019 and in 2021, they welcomed their first child, a baby boy.
If Holmes is convicted in her ongoing appeal, Holmes could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution.
Who stars in The Dropout?
Amanda Seyfried leads the cast as Elizabeth Holmes in a haunting portrayal of the former CEO (catch her in character in the explosive trailer below).
Joining her is Naveen Andrews who plays Sunny Balwani (known as Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani in real life, the former president and chief operating officer of Theranos). If you can’t quite put your finger on where you’ve seen Andrews before, allow us to enlighten you: His most notable role was Sayid Jarrah in Lost, and he also starred in 1996’s The English Patient, as well as 2013′ Diana.
Shameless’ William H. Macy, House of Cards’ Elizabeth Marvel and American rapper and singer Utkarsh Ambudkar will also star in the miniseries.
When will The Dropout be released?
The Dropout will stream from March 3, 2022.
Where can you watch The Dropout in Australia?
The series will drop via Hulu in the US on March 3, and Disney+ for us here in Australia.
Until then, you can subscribe Disney Plus, live and on demand with a mth-to-mth or annual subscription. SIGN UP NOW
