Amanda Seyfried plays Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in a series that pulls no punches.
Following Inventing Anna, and beginning ahead of WeCrashed, television’s year of the scammer continues on Hulu with The Dropout. The Dropout tells the story of the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the titular Stanford dropout who went on to found the now-defunct company Theranos—which at one point promised to change the world of healthcare and blood testing, and eventually found its founder convicted of fraud.
Unlike the mishandled Inventing Anna, however, The Dropout actually holds its subjects’ feet to the fire. Rather than awkwardly framing Holmes (along with her partner Sunny Balwani) as fighting some sort of noble fight, it frames her as what she was: a liar. An ambitious liar, sure, but nonetheless a liar whose fabrications not only cost people money, but wound up hurting people, too.
Amanda Seyfried, who last year picked up an Academy Award nomination for her work in David Fincher’s Mank, will likely find herself in Emmy conversations this time around for her work playing Holmes. From her work in Mean Girls and Mamma Mia to Jennifer’s Body and Twin Peaks, Seyfried has always shown an immense talent for fully transforming into character—and adding a layer of depth and a degree of complexity to a character seen frequently in the media is her latest achievement in the craft.
The only other series regular in The Dropout is Naveen Andrews (Lost) who plays Balwani, but the show also features an impressive array of guest stars, including Laurie Metcalf, Alan Ruck, Sam Waterston, William H. Macy, and Dylan Minnette. And it makes sense for it to be that way—this is the story of Holmes, with Balwani somewhat along with her for the ride. So, it makes sense that they’re the only ones we’re seeing with any regularity.
All eight episodes of The Dropout are now on Hulu.
By EVAN ROMANO for Men’s Health©
Source: ‘The Dropout’ Release Schedule – When Do New Episodes Come Out? (menshealth.com)
