Amanda Seyfried Perfects Elizabeth Holmes’ Voice in Hulu’s ‘The Dropout’ Trailer

Hulu’s next based-on-a-true-story limited series is The Dropout, which dramatizes the life of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, starring Amanda Seyfried in the lead role. Based on the trailer Hulu released on Monday, Seyfried was a perfect choice for the part, as she even gets Holmes’ unique voice down perfectly. The series will debut on March 3.

In the trailer, Holmes is desperate to prove that the Theranos device, which she claimed would perform blood tests with just a single drop of blood, really worked. She also tries to woo investors, even as scientists try to convince her that there is still work to be done. As for the title, it’s a reference to Holmes’ decision to drop out of Stanford to devote her life to the dream of “making health care accessible to everyone in this country,” as Seyfried’s Holmes declares in the trailer.

Once the science fails to follow through with Holmes’ lofty promises though, Holmes leaned on lofty rhetoric to keep investors interested. That’s where the crimes kick in. Back in 2015, journalists revealed that Holmes was misleading investors and the government. In January, she was convicted of defrauding investors and she faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26.

The Dropout uses Rebecca Jarvis and ABC Audio’s podcast on the scandal, also called The Dropout, as the basis for the script. Elizabeth Meriweather (New Girl) serves as showrunner and executive producer. The series was originally set to star Saturday Night Live‘s Kate McKinnon, but she dropped out in February 2021 and was quickly replaced by Seyfried.

The cast is also stacked with stars. Naveen Andrews (Lost) co-stars as Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former president and COO of Theranos, whose own trial is set to start in March. William H. Macy, Laurie Metcalf, Sam Waterston, Alan Ruck, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kurtwood Smith, and Stephen Fry also star. Hulu will release the first three episodes on Thursday, March 3, with one episode following each Thursday through the end of the month.

The Disney-owned Hulu has been busy producing several limited series about true stories. Just last week, the first three episodes of Pam and Tommy, a series about Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, was released. Dopesick, a critically acclaimed series about the opioid epidemic, was released last year.