The Dropout (TV series)

''The Dropout'' is an American biographical crime drama miniseries created by Elizabeth Meriwether, based on the podcast of the same name hosted by Rebecca Jarvis and produced by ABC News. The series documents the disgraced biotechnology company Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried.

It is the first television production to be produced by Searchlight Television. ''The Dropout'' premiered on the streaming service Hulu on March 3, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the writing and the performances of the cast. The series was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Seyfried, winning the latter.

Synopsis

''The Dropout'', based on the ABC Audio podcast of the same name, is a series about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos. The show touches on experiences that likely motivated Holmes's deceptions and lies in a linear fashion, starting from her preteens and all the way to her exposure as a fraud.

Cast and characters

Main

* Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes
* Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani

Recurring

* Utkarsh Ambudkar as Rakesh Madhava
* Michel Gill as Chris Holmes
* Elizabeth Marvel as Noel Holmes
* Laurie Metcalf as Phyllis Gardner
* Bill Irwin as Channing Robertson
* William H. Macy as Richard Fuisz
* Mary Lynn Rajskub as Lorraine Fuisz
* Kate Burton as Rochelle Gibbons
* Stephen Fry as Ian Gibbons
* Sam Waterston as George Shultz
* Anne Archer as Charlotte Shultz
* Dylan Minnette as Tyler Shultz
* Camryn Mi-Young Kim as Erika Cheung
* Kevin Sussman as Mark Roessler
* Kurtwood Smith as David Boies
* Michaela Watkins as Linda Tanner
* Ebon Moss-Bachrach as John Carreyrou
* LisaGay Hamilton as Judith Baker
* Bashir Salahuddin as Brendan Morris
* Shaun J. Brown as Daniel Young
* Hart Bochner as Larry Ellison
* Michael Ironside as Don Lucas
* James Hiroyuki Liao as Edmond Ku
* Nicky Endres as Ana Arriola
* Josh Pais as Wade Miquelon
* Alan Ruck as Jay Rosan
* Andrew Leeds as Roland
* Sam Straley as Christian Holmes
* Amir Arison as Avie Tevanian
* Rich Sommer as Kevin Hunter
* Garrett Coffey as Billy Evans

Episodes

Production

Development

On April 10, 2019, ''Deadline Hollywood'' reported that Hulu had given the production a series order for 6 to 10 episodes. The series would be executive produced by Kate McKinnon, the host of ''The Dropout'', Rebecca Jarvis, and its producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson. The production company involved with this series is Searchlight Television, making this its inaugural production. Upon the casting of Amanda Seyfried, she also joined the miniseries as a producer while Elizabeth Meriwether, Liz Heldens, Liz Hannah, and Katherine Pope joined Dunn and Thompson as executive producers. On March 31, 2021, Michael Showalter and Jordana Mollick joined the limited series as executive producers. Showalter was also expected to direct several episodes.

Casting

Kate McKinnon was originally cast to star as Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos. On February 18, 2021, McKinnon dropped out of the project. Though her departure did not come with an explanation, production moved forward without McKinnon. On March 29, 2021, Amanda Seyfried was cast to replace McKinnon. A day later, Naveen Andrews joined the main cast. On June 10, 2021, William H. Macy, Laurie Metcalf, Elizabeth Marvel, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Kate Burton, Stephen Fry, Michel Gill, Michael Ironside, Bill Irwin, and Josh Pais were cast in recurring roles. On August 3, 2021, Dylan Minnette, Alan Ruck, Bashir Salahuddin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Hart Bochner, James Hiroyuki Liao, Nicky Endres, Camryn Mi-Young Kim, and Andrew Leeds were cast in recurring roles. On August 5, 2021, Sam Waterston, Kurtwood Smith and Anne Archer were cast in recurring roles. On September 14, 2021, LisaGay Hamilton, Michaela Watkins, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kevin Sussman, Sam Straley, and Shaun Brown joined the cast in recurring capacities.

Release

The series premiered on March 3, 2022, with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis on Hulu. In international markets, it was released simultaneously via Star content hub on Disney+, on Star+ in Latín America, and on Disney+ Hotstar in India and Southeast Asia.

Reception

Audience viewership

According to Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media,''The Dropout'' was the 9th most in-demand new show, during the week of March 12, 2022 to March 18, 2022. According to data from Samba TV, 499,000 US households watched ''The Dropout'' in its first 4 days of streaming. According to Nielsen Holdings, ''The Dropout'' spent one week in the top ten streaming programs, during the week of March 7, 2022 to March 13, 2022. According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, ''The Dropout'' was the 3rd most watched program across all platforms, during the week of March 24, 2022, and was the most watched tv show during the week of March 31, 2022. According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, ''The Dropout'' was the 9th most streamed television series across all platforms in the U.S., during the week ending April 3, 2022.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the limited series holds an 89% approval rating based on 88 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''The Dropout'' succeeds more as a docudrama than a dark comedy, but Amanda Seyfried's disquieting portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes brings fresh blood to this retelling of recent history." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Caroline Framke of ''Variety'' found the miniseries very impressive for its genuine portrait of Elizabeth Holmes, acclaimed the performances of the actors, especially Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews, and said that the show skillfully manages to cover Holmes' life throughout the years flawlessly with its edits. Daniel Fienberg of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' acclaimed Seyfried for her performance, while praising the supporting cast, complimented how the miniseries manages to depict Holmes and the different aspects of her personality, and found the characterization of Holmes' entourage the show's best feature. Reviewing the series for ''Rolling Stone'', Alan Sepinwall gave a rating of 5 out of 5 stars and described it as, "a maddening, gripping, and at times startlingly funny recreation of a story that would feel too absurd to be true if we didn't already know otherwise." Beth Webb of ''Empire'' rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the performance of Seyfried and Andrews, and found the show cohesive and entrancing. Joyce Slaton of ''Common Sense Media'' rated the miniseries 4 out of 5 stars, praised the performances of the actors, and stated that the show illustrates Holmes went too far to make a positive impact on the world. Lucy Mangan of ''The Guardian'' rated the miniseries 3 out of 5 stars, praised the performances of the actors and the story, writing, "it's clunky at points, but Amanda Seyfried excels as one-time billionaire grifter Elizabeth Holmes – and the story is simply too jaw-dropping to pass up."

Accolades

See also

* List of podcast adaptations

References

External links

*
The Dropout
' on Hulu
*
*
The Dropout
' on ABC Audio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dropout, The
2020s American drama television miniseries
2022 American television series debuts
2022 American television series endings
Hulu original programming
English-language television shows
Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series by Searchlight Television
Television shows based on podcasts