The first official trailer for The Dropout, a highly anticipated limited series, was launched by Hulu on February 7, 2022. It stars Amanda Seyfried as the former Theranos CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
The story revolves around the biotechnology enthusiast, who claimed to have revolutionized the process of blood testing, becoming a billionaire through her startup
Theranos was condemned for criminal fraud soon after.
Apart from Amanda Seyfried, the ensemble cast of The Dropout includes Naveen Andrews, Kate Burton, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Michel Gill, William H. Macy, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Elizabeth Marvel, Dylan Minnette, Laurie Metcalf, Alan Ruck, Sam Waterston, Stephen Fry and Michaela Watkins.
The trailer for 'The Dropout’
The Dropout’s trailer discloses the story, which begins in the same way as most compelling biopics. A young person’s revolutionary idea is questioned, ignored, derided by their peers, and recognized as “impossible” to achieve.
However, it soon becomes quite evident that Elizabeth is overtaken by her idea of proving naysayers wrong, and, in her attempt, violates several safety measures and health ethics.
However, The Dropout will convey an incomplete story, as Elizabeth, in real life, has yet to be sentenced and her hearing date is scheduled for late September 2022. But the unexpectedly intriguing factors in Elizabeth Holmes' story have proven too irresistible to not tell.
Know about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, the now infamous medical device startup
Elizabeth Holmes got the inspiration of going to the medical field from her great-great-grandfather, who was a surgeon. Another inspiration behind Theranos, a blood testing company which aimed to utilize a smaller lance to receive blood, was her fear of needles.
The blood testing company made several impressive claims regarding their device, such as the machine will be able to conduct 300 tests through one device. They further alleged that Theranos had been given a contract to provide these tests to soldiers in Afghanistan.
Further, potential investors were given documents with Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline logos, denoting that the big medical organizations had given their backing to the company.
In reality, however, the devices - named 'Edison' - could only conduct eight tests. What was even more shocking was that the company had gotten no endorsements from GSK or Pfizer, nor had the devices ever been assigned to the soldiers in Afghanistan.
The matter became even worse when it was revealed that the devices in Walgreens stores reported the wrong results, resulting in much emotional agony and distress for users.
What happened to the CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes?
At its peak, the company was valued at $9 billion dollars and Elizabeth Holmes, often referred to as the "female Steve Jobs,” was valued at an estimated $6 billion.
Complications began when one concerned staffer, Tyler Schultz, after witnessing the company's medical processes, called New York state’s public health lab to express his concerns. In October of the same year, the WSJ published an expose of the suspicious company, after which the situation became even more intense.
Elizabeth Holmes was accused of felony charges in 2018, before getting charged and held accountable on four counts of investor fraud in 2022 (January), as reported by the BBC. The former CEO of Theranos was later found innocent of all four other charges and the jury was unsuccessful in reaching a verdict on a further three.
Elizabeth Holmes, currently 37, has been living in San Francisco with her husband, hospitality heir William “Billy” Evans. Their son was born on July 2021.
The outcome of the appeal is yet to be released. However, it is safe to say that this latest verdict is highly unlikely to be the last.
Reportedly, Elizabeth Meriwether, the writer and creator of Single Parents and New Girl, will serve as the showrunner for The Dropout.
Hulu will launch the first three episodes of The Dropout on March 3, 2022. The remaining episodes will premiere on the streaming platform on a weekly basis after that.