The Dropout

I was a banker for 40 years. I got my start in San Francisco during the heyday of the 1970s when guys with Beatle haircuts and plaid suits tried to upend the finance industry.

Out of that group came Apple, the Home Shopping Networks, etc., and the seed capital and business practices for what is now the Silicon Valley. What also came out was lots of bankruptcies, shareholder lawsuits, and corporate money spent on drugs, sex and rock and roll.

Elizabeth Holmes didn't surprise me. She wasn't much different than those 1970s bankers in plaid three piece suites and Beatles hair cuts. She had the same arrogant attitude, the same way of talking around a problem rather than answering a question and the same failure to appreciate the idea that most people earn their livings by working for them. Privileged. White, Young,

In this series, Seyfried captures the attitude, the creepy lack of self awareness, the naked ambition and the voice. She shows us that the facade without a person inside. She plays the role as If it were written for her, and reveals acting ability I have never seen in her.

The other cast members are good (especially Bill Macy) but it's hard to divert our eyes from the train wreck of a character Seyfried makes of Holmes. And she does a really good job of it.

See it for her acting, but you might enjoy it more if you know the story,

As Episode 1 of "The Dropout" (2022 release; 8 episodes of about 50-55 min each) opens, it is "July 11, 2017" and Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of the Silicon Valley startup unicorn Theranos, is in a court deposition, answering uncomfortable questions about whether/how she misled investors. We then go to "Houston 1995" as young Elizabeth is running track awkwardly. We then move to "2001" as her dad loses his job in the Enron corporate collapse.... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this mini-series is the brainchild of Elizabeth Meriwether ("New Girl") and directed by Michael Showalter ("The Big Sick", "The Eyes of tammy Faye"). In other words: top talent is on board here. Let me admit that I was somewhat skeptical of this mini-series, having seen the excellent 2019 HBO documentary "The Inventor: Out for Blood In Silicon Valley" that made me wonder what additional insight this mini-series could provide on what drove Elizabeth Holmes to do what she did. Turns out: quite a lot. We learn of origin details that I hadn't heard before (such as how Elizabeth and Sunny actually met). And to top it all, Amanda Seyfried is in top form and delivers a more than credible performance as Elizabeth. One of the big advantages of this mini-series over the HBO documentary is that we now know how it all plays out, as a verdict in the law suit against Elizabeth Holmes was rendered in early 2022. Bottom line: having seen the initial 2 episodes so far in "The Dropout", and regardless on how you feel about Elizabeth Holmes, "The Dropout" is a surprisingly entertaining mini-series that has caught my attention, and I'm looking forward to seeing the remainder episodes.

The initial episodes of "The Dropout" premiered on Hulu on March 3, and are now available on demand (where I caught the initial 2 episodes), with new episodes being released on Thursdays. If you have any interest in Silicon Valley or in corporate malfeasance, I'd readily suggest you check out "The Dropout", and draw your own conclusion.

UPDATE 3/17/22 I'm now 5 episodes into it, and I admit I'm outright transfixed by it. A train wreck is about to come and I can't wait to see it all happening.

UPDATE 4/7/22 Just watched the 8th and final episode. I have updated my rating for this mini-series to 9 stars, yes it is that good. This fascinating mini-series simply got better with each episode. The last 2 episodes, when the house of cards finally falls apart, is TV-viewing at its very best. The performance of Amanda Seyfried is towering, and surely worthy of an Emmy nomination, if not win.

I watched videos of Elizabeth Holmes and I have to say that Amanda Seyfried's performance was spot on. I had no clue who Elizabeth Holmes was and had never heard of Theranos.

It's absolutely unbelievable to me that all these stupid men actually believed this woman without ever seeing the machine in action. It's sad that because of sociopaths like Elizabeth giving women a bad name others probably suffered.

First 3 episodes in and i think she is a credible Elizabeth Holmes, mostly, except that she is way too pretty. Otherwise, her acting on this role works for me and largely keeps the grip on the show.

Looking forward to the rest of the season.

Wow.. this show is insane. I want to start off by saying that I know movies and shows overdramatize true stories so I'm speaking solely about the show right now. This goes from you rooting for the main character to you hating her.. like a real life Anakin Skywalker story.. IF this is close to what actually happened I would have been horrified to have been a part of this company. What a truly terrifying slip into "The Dark Side".... Wow.. just wow..