Based on the real-life events of the Theranos scandal, the show stars Amanda Seyfried as Holmes: a woman once touted as the next Steve Jobs and a self-made billionaire – before a catastrophic fall from grace.
Hulu’s highly-anticipated drama, The Dropout, made its way on the streaming platform last week, and viewers have wasted no time binge-watching the first three episodes.
Having just debuted on Hulu on March 3, 2022, and Disney+ in the UK, the show is based on an ABC News true-crime podcast series of the same name, presented by journalist Rebecca Jarvis.
The series tells the true story of the rise and fall of disgraced biotechnology entrepreneurs Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. Elizabeth Holmes’s rise to fame – then infamy – started with a noble enough idea: one drop of blood could diagnose various diseases.
We won’t spoil the hit series for you, but you should know that the story starts in 2003, when 19-year-old Holmes founded health technology company Theranos.
The company patented a blood-testing machine that they named Edison, theoretically supposed to run nearly 1,000 tests based on a single drop of blood.
Impressing just about everyone in Silicon Valley, she raised over $700 million for her venture and was eventually given a $10 billion valuation at the company’s peak in 2014.
Of course, given the amount of money involved, the revolutionary new technology, and her relatively young age – Holmes received much attention from tech experts and the media.
This attention changed when it turned out that everything wasn’t quite as it seemed. From Silicon Valley’s prodigy, she became a pariah, and when legal proceedings began – she became a suspect.
Yet today, she stands convicted of fraud, facing up to 20 years in prison after a months-long trial played out in California in her early 30s.
The show follows Holmes, who claimed her company would revolutionise diseases with a radical blood test. However, once rumours of fraud started to circulate, the self-made billionaire quickly met her defeat.
The show is gripped by viewers, packed with high-stakes drama and features a starry supporting cast, including Stephen Fry, Lisa Hamilton and Alan Ruck.
Check out the trailer below: