The Dropout Trailer: Amanda Seyfried Does The Voice
The trailer for "The Dropout" is here, and with it, I think we can officially dub this Scammer Spring. Between "Joe vs. Carole," "Inventing Anna," "The Tinder Swindler," and this Amanda Seyfried-led series about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, our watchlists are overflowing with shows about driven but deceptive people.
"The Dropout" looks like it could be the best of the bunch. Seyfried plays Holmes, the black turtleneck-wearing blonde fraudster who dropped out of college to invent a revolutionary blood testing product that didn't actually exist. The first look makes her folly extremely clear, with pretty much everyone around Holmes overtly insisting that the project is impossible. "I don't understand how you're doing this extremely complex chemical engineering with a high school degree," one of her colleagues tells her.
Meet The Infamous Fraudster Billionaire
The truth was, she wasn't. After a massive public valuation, the company was investigated, and Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors. In the trailer for "The Dropout," though, we don't see a criminal mastermind but an eager young woman who seems to believe wholeheartedly that she can revolutionize healthcare. She quotes Yoda, cuts a ceremonial ribbon, and practices her much-discussed deep voice in the mirror. As her plan begins to unravel, the tension escalates in the form of an ominous dripping sound accompanying the trailer's music.
Plenty of familiar faces pop up in this story, from Laurie Metcalf to William H. Macy to Alan Ruck. The supporting cast also includes Dylan Minnette, Sam Waterston, Michaela Watkins, and Stephen Fry, among others. "Lost" alum Naveen Andrews stars opposite Seyfried as Sunny Balwani, Theranos' former president and COO.
"The Dropout" is based on the podcast of the same name by ABC Audio. Elizabeth Meriwether, best known for creating "New Girl," will serve as showrunner with Michael Showalter ("Search Party"), with an executive producer slate that includes Showalter (who's also directing) and Golden Globe-nominated screenwriter Liz Hannah ("The Post"), among others.
This series initially had Kate McKinnon on board to star, but Seyfried stepped in after the "Saturday Night Live" actress, well, dropped out. Seyfried looks like the right choice here. McKinnon is excellent, but thanks to her history as a comedian, it would've been nearly impossible not to laugh when she shifted into Holmes' signature throaty voice. Seyfried, on the other hand, looks to be playing Holmes as a single-minded entrepreneur whose awareness of her own misdeeds remains enigmatic for much of Theranos' existence.
"The Dropout" will premiere with three episodes on Hulu on March 3, 2022, with weekly episode drops to follow.