Kate McKinnon to Star as Elizabeth Holmes in Limited Series 'The Dropout' at Hulu

The Saturday Night Live star is starring as the founder of the controversial biotech firm Theranos

Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon has signed on to star in and executive produce a new Hulu limited series about Elizabeth Holmes.

McKinnon will play Holmes, the founder of the controversial biotech firm Theranos, in the The Dropout — from Fox Searchlight’s TV division — Deadline reported Wednesday.

The drama will be based on ABC News/ABC Radio’s The Dropout podcast about Holmes and Theranos, according to the outlet, and is expected to be between six and 10 episodes.

Alongside McKinnon, podcast host Rebecca Jarvis and producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson will also executive produce, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Kate McKinnon and Elizabeth Holmes split
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; C Flanigan/Getty Images

The news comes nearly three years after Jennifer Lawrence signed on to play the former Theranos CEO in Bad Blood, a film about the company.

Holmes was indicted on wire fraud charges. The company, which was at one point worth $9 billion, lost trust with the public after an investigation by The Wall Street Journal poked holes in its claims about its new blood testing system.

In 2015, Forbes named the Theranos CEO and founder the world’s youngest and wealthiest self-made billionaire. Then it all came falling down when her allegedly revolutionary blood testing tool, once valued at $9 billion, faced fraud claims, leaving Holmes with a net worth of zero.

John Carreyrou, the author of Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup and who wrote and reported the Wall Street Journal story that helped break open the Theranos scam, will write the movie treatment of his book.

Oscar-winning director Adam McKay and former Saturday Night Live head writer will tackle the tale of Holmes and her now-defunct company. “I can’t wait to get into that story,” McKay, 50, told Vanity Fair in 2017.

Though it’s been in the works since 2016 and gained Oscar buzz from the start due to Lawrence and McKay’s involvement, Bad Blood doesn’t yet have a release date.

Related Articles