‘The Dropout’ Showrunner Liz Meriwether Previews Elizabeth Holmes’ Downfall
Preview
The Dropout has taken viewers on quite a journey as it follows Elizabeth Holmes‘ story from the perspective of Amanda Seyfried‘s portrayal.
In the show’s most recent installment, “Heroes,” the Theranos founder’s house of cards began to crumble as the Wall Street Journal began airing her dirty laundry of coverups and more behind the scenes at the company. And with only one episode remaining, there’s only one place to go from here and it’s down.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s the downfall,” showrunner Liz Meriwether teases of the episode. As for what viewers can anticipate from the installment, Meriwether adds, “it’s the end of her relationship with Sunny (Naveen Andrews), Billy Evans — who’s her new partner and the father of her child — is in it.”
(Credit: Hulu)
Not much else can be said, as Meriwether keeps some shreds of mystery for viewers, but she does add that she hopes they “like it.” And it’s difficult to not be intrigued, even with prior knowledge of Elizabeth’s misdeeds, this riveting dramatization is more engrossing with each passing installment.
The show has tracked Elizabeth’s beginnings as a young student eager to make a difference and followed her as she transformed into a powerful company leader determined to keep its darkest secrets a mystery. It’s a transformation that’s acknowledged by Laurie Metcalf‘s Dr. Phyllis Gardner in the penultimate episode as she comes face-to-face with Holmes at an event.
Gardner confronts Elizabeth and notes how her decisions impact all women in the sciences and knowing what they do of Elizabeth’s practices, Gardner charges that Elizabeth will damage womens’ reputations in the field. “She was commercializing this idea of her as a groundbreaking female CEO,” Meriwether says of the Theranos founder’s vision of herself.
“But I’m also telling the story of Phyllis Gardner and Erika Cheung (Camryn Mi-young Kim) who are two different women in the sciences that have completely different backgrounds,” Meriwether says, adding, “I think it was important to me that I juxtapose the version of putting herself out there as a woman with what it was for other women who were really digging in and doing the work and what their experiences were.”
See how their experiences differ as The Dropout drops its final episode on Hulu this April.
The Dropout, Season Finale, Thursday, April 7, Hulu
