The Dropout
The Dropout is an American biographical drama television miniseries that dramatises the rise and fall of the disgraced biotechnology company Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried.[1] It features an ensemble supporting cast, including Naveen Andrews, Elizabeth Marvel, William H. Macy, Stephen Fry, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bill Irwin, Utkarsh Ambudkar, LisaGay Hamilton, Michael Ironside, Laurie Metcalf, Anne Archer, and Sam Waterston. Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, the series is based on the podcast of the same name hosted by Rebecca Jarvis and produced by ABC News.
This article is about the television miniseries. For the podcast the series is based on, see The Dropout (podcast). For other uses, see Dropout.The Dropout
Anne Nikitin
United States
English
8
- Elizabeth Meriwether
- Katherine Pope
- Michael Showalter
- Jordana Mollick
- Rebecca Jarvis
- Taylor Dunn
- Victoria Thompson
- Liz Heldens
- Liz Hannah
- Amanda Seyfried
- Hilary Bettis
- Megan Mascena
- Michelle Lawler
- Jonathan Furmanski
- Blake McClure
- David Berman
- Steve Welch
- Susana Benaim
45–55 minutes
- Elizabeth Meriwether Pictures
- Semi-Formal Productions
- 20th Television
- Searchlight Television
March 3 –
April 7, 2022
The Dropout is the first television production to be produced by Searchlight Television. It premiered on the streaming service Hulu on March 3, 2022,[2] and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the writing and the performances of the cast, particularly Seyfried. At the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series earned six nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, with Seyfried winning for Outstanding Lead Actress. It was also nominated for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film and Seyfried won Best Actress at the 80th Golden Globe Awards.
Synopsis[edit]
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.[3] 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.[4]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
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 series would be Searchlight Television’s inaugural production.[3] 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.[1] On March 31, 2021, Michael Showalter and Jordana Mollick joined the limited series as executive producers. Showalter directed the first four episodes of the series.[6]
Casting[edit]
Kate McKinnon was originally cast to star as Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos.[7] On February 18, 2021, McKinnon dropped out of the project. Though her departure did not come with an explanation, production moved forward without McKinnon.[8] On March 29, 2021, Amanda Seyfried was cast to replace McKinnon.[1] A day later, Naveen Andrews joined the main cast.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] On August 5, 2021, Sam Waterston, Kurtwood Smith and Anne Archer were cast in recurring roles.[12] On September 14, 2021, LisaGay Hamilton, Michaela Watkins, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kevin Sussman, Sam Straley, and Shaun Brown joined the cast in recurring capacities.[13]
Release[edit]
The series premiered on March 3, 2022, with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis on Hulu.[2] In international markets, it was released simultaneously via Star content hub on Disney+, on Star+ in Latín America,[14] and on Disney+ Hotstar in India and Southeast Asia.[15]
Reception[edit]
Audience viewership[edit]
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.[16][17] According to data from Samba TV, 499,000 US households watched The Dropout in its first 4 days of streaming.[18] 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.[19][20] According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, The Dropout was the 3rd most watched program across all platforms, during the week of March 24, 2022,[21] and was the most watched tv show during the week of March 31, 2022.[22] 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.[23]