# The Dropout
**The Dropout** is an American drama limited series that premiered on Hulu on March 3, 2022, dramatizing the rise and fall of [Elizabeth Holmes](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-holmes) and her blood-testing company Theranos. Created by [Elizabeth Meriwether](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-meriwether), the eight-episode series stars [Amanda Seyfried](https://www.edgepedia.org/amanda-seyfried) as Holmes and Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani, and it is adapted from the ABC News podcast of the same name hosted by Rebecca Jarvis.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-dropout/details/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Eight-episode limited series, TV-MA, episodes of about 50 minutes[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-dropout) |
| Run | Premiered March 3, 2022; final episode aired April 7, 2022[4](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/the-dropout/bNLMfJYZx2TIyiRx9YwJV1/where-to-watch/) |
| Source material | The ABC News podcast of the same name, hosted by chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-dropout/details/) |
| Lead cast | Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes; Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/) |
| Studios | Searchlight Television and 20th Television; Searchlight Television's first production[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/) |
| Reception | 90% Tomatometer from 97 reviews and 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 75 on Metacritic[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_dropout/s01) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-dropout/) |
| Awards | One Primetime Emmy from six nominations (Seyfried, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, 2022); 2023 Critics Choice Award for Best Limited Series[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/dropout) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10166622/awards/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and approach
The series follows Holmes from her years as a Stanford undergraduate through the founding of Theranos, the company's years of inflated promises about its blood-testing technology, and the collapse that ended with her conviction. Hulu's synopsis frames it as the story of "the world's youngest self-made female billionaire" who lost it all.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/) The show's title refers to Holmes's departure from Stanford to found the company.[9](https://www.epguides.com/Dropout/)
Rather than retelling the headline facts, the series concentrates on Holmes as a person. A TIME review described it as foregrounding her transformation from an anxious, socially inept teenager into a self-styled dynamo who learned to imitate the powerful men who initially dismissed her, and as posing three questions: who Holmes is, what she was thinking, and how she persuaded so many rich and accomplished people to believe her.[10](https://time.com/6153051/dropout-review-hulu/) The story spans roughly 15 years, and the cinematography subtly aged Seyfried across that arc; Los Angeles locations also doubled for Beijing, China.[11](https://theasc.com/video/clubhouse-conversations-the-dropout/)
The supporting cast dramatizes the people around Holmes: [Sam Waterston](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-waterston) plays political eminence [George Shultz](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-shultz), Laurie Metcalf plays Stanford professor Phyllis Gardner, William H. Macy plays [Richard Fuisz](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-fuisz), Stephen Fry plays scientist Ian Gibbons, and Dylan Minnette plays Shultz's grandson.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-dropout) • [10](https://time.com/6153051/dropout-review-hulu/) Guest stars also include Utkarsh Ambudkar, Kate Burton, Michel Gill, LisaGay Hamilton, Elizabeth Marvel, Alan Ruck, and Michaela Watkins.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/)
## Production
Elizabeth Meriwether, previously the creator of the Fox comedy *New Girl*, served as showrunner and executive producer; it was her first project built around true events and a real person.[12](https://press.hulu.com/bios/elizabeth-meriwether/) • [13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-03-03/the-dropout-hulu-elizabeth-holmes-liz-meriwether-new-girl) The executive producers also include Liz Heldens, Liz Hannah, Katherine Pope, podcast journalists [Rebecca Jarvis](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebecca-jarvis), Victoria Thompson, and Taylor Dunn, and [Michael Showalter](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-showalter), who directed multiple episodes.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/) More seasoned television writers Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, both from *30 Rock*, were brought in as co-showrunners ahead of launch.[13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-03-03/the-dropout-hulu-elizabeth-holmes-liz-meriwether-new-girl)
The project was announced in a different form. A Disney programming fact sheet from before production described *The Dropout* as a 10-episode series expected in 2021, inspired by the ABC News podcast, with [Kate McKinnon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-mckinnon) attached to star as Holmes and executive produce; the produced series instead ran eight episodes and starred Seyfried.[14](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/twdc_investor_day_programming_fact_sheet_ecbccd9a.pdf) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-dropout)
Timing placed the premiere in the middle of a cluster of [Silicon Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/silicon-valley) cautionary tales. It debuted on Hulu two months after a jury found Holmes guilty of four counts of fraudulently deceiving investors, alongside Showtime's *Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber* and Apple TV+'s *WeCrashed*.[13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-03-03/the-dropout-hulu-elizabeth-holmes-liz-meriwether-new-girl) TIME called it the first dramatization of the Theranos rise and fall, noting that the underlying podcast began in 2019 and continued through Holmes's 2022 trial.[15](https://time.com/6153335/elizabeth-holmes-the-dropout-true-story/)
## Reception and awards
Critics received the series favorably. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 90% Tomatometer across 97 reviews with an 83% audience score, and its critics consensus said the show succeeds more as a docudrama than a dark comedy while crediting Seyfried's "disquieting portrayal" of Holmes.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_dropout/s01) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 75 based on 34 critic reviews.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-dropout/)
At the 74th [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards) the series received six nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, directing nominations for Michael Showalter ("Green Juice") and [Francesca Gregorini](https://www.edgepedia.org/francesca-gregorini) ("Iron Sisters"), a writing nomination for Meriwether, and a casting nomination; Seyfried won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/dropout) In 2023 it won the Critics Choice Award for Best Limited Series, with a second win for Seyfried as Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10166622/awards/)
The series has remained available on Hulu and Disney+ and saw renewed attention years later; in 2026 [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) reported a 200% week-over-week rise in searches for it.[4](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/the-dropout/bNLMfJYZx2TIyiRx9YwJV1/where-to-watch/) • [16](https://www.fanbolt.com/184817/how-you-can-see-everything-sent-viewers-flocking-back-to-the-dropout-on-hulu/)
## Other works of the same name
A separate, unrelated feature film titled *The Dropout*, a romantic drama about a divorcee who falls for her daughter's new boyfriend, completed principal photography in Los Angeles in May 2022, directed by Tyrrell Shaffner and written by Shaffner and Meryl Branch-McTiernan.[17](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-dropout-2) The name also belongs to Dropout, the comedy streaming service spun out of [CollegeHumor](https://www.edgepedia.org/collegehumor), which produces series such as *Game Changer* and *Dimension 20*.[18](https://www.fastcompany.com/91136741/dropout-rebrand-collegehumor-sam-reich)
## References
1. [The Dropout, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-dropout/)
2. [The Dropout details, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-dropout/details/)
3. [The Dropout, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-dropout)
4. [The Dropout (2022): Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/the-dropout/bNLMfJYZx2TIyiRx9YwJV1/where-to-watch/)
5. [The Dropout: Limited Series, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_dropout/s01)
6. [The Dropout Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-dropout/)
7. [The Dropout, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/dropout)
8. [The Dropout (TV Mini Series 2022) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10166622/awards/)
9. [The Dropout, A Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides](https://www.epguides.com/Dropout/)
10. [In a Season of Subpar Scammer Shows, Only The Dropout Is the Real Thing, TIME](https://time.com/6153051/dropout-review-hulu/)
11. [Clubhouse Conversations: The Dropout, American Society of Cinematographers](https://theasc.com/video/clubhouse-conversations-the-dropout/)
12. [Elizabeth Meriwether bio, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/bios/elizabeth-meriwether/)
13. [The Dropout Hulu: Why Elizabeth Holmes trial was left out, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-03-03/the-dropout-hulu-elizabeth-holmes-liz-meriwether-new-girl)
14. [Content for Hulu (U.S.) and Star (international), The Walt Disney Company programming fact sheet](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/twdc_investor_day_programming_fact_sheet_ecbccd9a.pdf)
15. [The True Story Behind The Dropout and the Elizabeth Holmes Theranos Scandal, TIME](https://time.com/6153335/elizabeth-holmes-the-dropout-true-story/)
16. [How 'You Can See Everything' Sent Viewers Flocking Back to The Dropout on Hulu, FanBolt](https://www.fanbolt.com/184817/how-you-can-see-everything-sent-viewers-flocking-back-to-the-dropout-on-hulu/)
17. [The Dropout, Production List, Film & Television Industry Alliance](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-dropout-2)
18. [How CEO Sam Reich built Dropout from CollegeHumor's ashes, Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/91136741/dropout-rebrand-collegehumor-sam-reich)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Miniseries and anthology series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license