Nowadays, you either die a hero or you live long enough to see your life get turned into a miniseries.
Hulu miniseries “The Dropout,” released Thursday, gives audiences a look into how Stanford drop-out Elizabeth Holmes became the most unhinged girl boss con-artist.
Holmes was found guilty on Jan. 4 for defrauding investors out of millions of dollars while trying to develop new healthcare technology.
The court proceedings, which began September 2021 at a federal courthouse in San Jose, captivated the nation.
She founded Theranos in 2003 when she was 19-years-old, with the promise of a new technology that could scan for hundreds of diseases with just the prick of a finger. The company, which was based in Palo Alto, was once worth around $10 billion and is now worthless.
Holmes is the Jordan Belfort of women and scientists.
Belfort is an American entrepreneur, former stockbroker and convicted felon who was found guilty of fraud and related crimes in connection with stock market manipulation, according to a June 2020 article from financial publication Investopedia .
Hulu’s miniseries is the first retelling of Theranos’ rise and fall. Holmes is played by Amanda Seyfried, known for her appearance in movies “Mean Girls” and “Jennifer’s Body.” The show is based on a podcast by host Rebecca Jarvis and ABC News producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson
Only the first three of the seven episodes have been released so far. The beginning of the series is supposed to captivate audiences with the story of Holmes and hopefully continue watching every week, but the story is just not made for TV.
How dramatic can Hulu make this? Not enough, the show is boring. While it was interesting to watch one woman’s gamble into the business world, I could have gained just as much information about her meteoric rise and eventual downfall from an hour-long YouTube video.
In the series, Holmes compares herself to co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs because they also dropped out of college and changed history.
Gates and Jobs changed lives by entering the technology industry where failing is not as risky. I’m no scientist but I think in Holmes’ case, a college degree was a bit more necessary when messing with healthcare.
The series depicted Holmes as an amazing saleswoman who could talk her way out of anything, but the show was not interesting enough. She committed fraud and didn’t tell anyone that her devices were faulty- big deal.
How did they make the story more interesting for a miniseries? Amanda Seyfried.
Seyfried is amazing as Holmes because she is able to imitate her deep voice, though it sounds as though she has a pool noodle lodged in her throat.
She said in a March 2 interview with the New York Times that she had to “pull out the human” in Holmes.
In Seyfried’s performance she understood how Holmes is totally unhinged and was able to separate the humanity within the criminal.
Since I’m familiar with Holmes’ case and its verdict, I’m interested to see how the show unfolds. But instead of watching the series with my eyes glued to the screen, I might do some homework with the show playing as background noise.
Taking all of the facts and television dramatizations into account, I’d give the show three out of five stars.
I’m sure I’ll have the same biopic complaints, including how the show could have been at least two or three episodes shorter, but the intriguing subject matter will keep me watching.
“The Dropout” releases every Wednesday on Hulu.
