Hulu is very close to closing a deal with Fox Searchlight TV for The Dropout, a limited series starring and executive produced by Kate McKinnon which is based on ABC News/ABC Radio’s podcast about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos.
The Emmy winning Saturday Night Live breakout star will play the disgraced entrepreneur Holmes and will executive produce the limited drama series, whose length is expected to be between 6-10 episodes. Also on board is podcast host /creator Rebecca Jarvis, who is ABC News chief business, technology and economics correspondent.
The Dropout launched as a podcast in late January and was turned into a two-hour documentary that aired on ABC News’ 20/20 in March.
According to the podcast’s description, “the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye? How did the woman once heralded as ‘the next Steve Jobs’ find herself facing criminal charges — to which she pleaded not guilty — and up to 20 years in jail? How did her technology, meant to revolutionize healthcare, potentially put millions of patients at risk? And how did so many smart people get it so wrong along the way?”
Limited series has been an important arena for Hulu, starting with 11.22.63 and last year’s The Looming Tower. The streaming service’s recently released The Act has been a breakout hit, with two more high-profile limited series in the wings, Catch-22and Veronica Mars.
Kate McKinnon is one of the most popular cast members of NBC’s Saturday Night Live where she has been since 2012. She has earned five consecutive Emmy nominations for her work on the sketch comedy program, winning in 2016 and 2017.
