Oscar Nominee Amanda Seyfried (Mank) has been cast as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, Hulu’s limited drama series based on the story of the failed startup Theranos, according to Deadline. Seyfried fills the role Kate McKinnon (SNL) was slated to play after McKinnon left the project in February. No reason was given for McKinnon’s exit.
The Dropout follows Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes (Seyfried) through the rise and fall of her medical device startup Theranos, and is based on the ABC News/ABC Radio podcast, according to Deadline. The startup was once valued at billions of dollars and backed by major investors, but later crumbled after news broke that the technology didn’t actually work.
Seyfried will act as a producer the series, joining executive producer and showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether (Fox’s New Girl), Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights), Liz Hannah (Mindhunter), Katherine Pope (New Girl), Rebecca Jarvis (Good Morning America), Victoria Thompson (ABC News Nightline)and Taylor Dunn (GameStopped).
Seyfried got her big break starring as Karen Smith in Mean Girls and later joined the cast of HBO’s Big Love. She received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of Marion Davies in David Fincher’s Mank. Upcoming productions include A Mouthful of Air and Things Heard & Seen.