The story of convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and her health technology company Theranos is one of the most shocking business scandals since the turn of the millennium – making it fertile ground for dramatisation. The Stanford University dropout and Steve Jobs wannabe promised to revolutionise healthcare with a device that could run dozens of tests on a single drop of blood. Investors and journalists alike fell head over heels for what she was selling, with the only problem being that the tech simply didn’t exist.

Amanda Seyfried takes the lead role of disgraced CEO Holmes, marking her most high-profile gig since becoming an Academy Award nominee with 2020 biopic Mank. Alas, it seems hard to imagine this performance earning the same degree of attention. Mercifully, this isn’t the goofy SNL impersonation that original star Kate McKinnon would have provided (see Joe vs Carole for a chilling glimpse at what could have been), but rarely does it feel like an authentic portrayal either.

In a bid to closer resemble her subject, Seyfried distractingly attempts to contort her face in such a way that accentuates her jawline, while she also struggles to maintain the (reportedly false) baritone voice that was such a huge part of Holmes’ public persona. Overall, it’s an uneven performance which lacks the magnetism that allowed this entrepreneur to accrue hundreds of millions of dollars from investors without ever having a fully operational prototype.

In Seyfried’s defence, she’s working with a shallow script that doesn’t offer any real insights into what was driving Holmes’ incomprehensible and callous deception. In lieu of any complex character study, we get a few light-hearted dance numbers (set to a seemingly random assortment of pop songs) that feel like a lazy attempt to humanise the former billionaire without actually saying anything of substance. The direction is similarly flat, presenting the show in a by-the-numbers format with little in the way of visual flair.

Indeed, watching The Dropout gave me renewed appreciation for another of Hulu’s recent factual dramas Dopesick, which adopted an unconventional multi-timeline narrative structure. If at times this was a little disorienting, it succeeded in keeping its key players relevant across all eight episodes, despite their roles in the story being separated by several years. By comparison, the less ambitious approach taken here means that characters drop in and out of this story very abruptly, oftentimes before we’ve had a chance to grow attached to them.

That might be representative of the culture at the now defunct Theranos, but it doesn’t make for very compelling storytelling. It’s a great shame too as there are some strong performances here that simply aren’t given enough time to shine, with standouts including Laurie Metcalf as Dr Phyllis Gardner and LisaGay Hamilton as fictionalised Wall Street Journal editor Judith Baker. Most disappointing of all is the lack of focus on Stephen Fry’s Dr Ian Gibbons, as anyone familiar with the true events will know him to be a tragic figure, whose story deserves to be handled more deftly than it is here.

Disney Plus

It’s strange that there would be a shortage of time for anyone as the early chapters of The Dropout feel rather slow-paced, spending too much time on the origins of Theranos and a dispute with Holmes’ childhood neighbour Richard Fuisz (portrayed here by William H Macy). Besides Seyfried, only Naveen Andrews gets an ample amount of screen time as business partner and secret lover Sunny Balwani, with the romantic chemistry between the two being convincing enough (albeit not particularly steamy).

Despite its many shortcomings, it’s not difficult to binge through The Dropout. But make no mistake, it’s always the unbelievable nature of this factual scandal that compels you to click ‘next episode’, as opposed to any bold choices from the creative team behind this vanilla miniseries. Indeed, if Seyfried and co’s uninspired choices can’t make the Theranos story boring then presumably nothing can – which bodes well for Adam McKay and Jennifer Lawrence’s upcoming stab (or should that be finger prick?) at a feature film retelling.

The Dropout premieres on Disney Plus on Thursday 3rd March. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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