It feels like everyone is talking about Elizabeth Holmes again thanks to the new documentary “You Can See Everything” and the original TV adaptation of her story “The Dropout” starring the excellent Amanda Seyfried. If your appetite for fraud, tech startups, and the drama of backdoor corporate activities is still unsatiated, we’ve compiled a list of five TV shows to watch if you liked “The Dropout.”
The story of Holmes is perhaps one that will interest people for decades because of the way it exposes everything wrong with the tech startup industry: The blind belief in certain personality types, the pressure to break all standards and ethics in pursuit of a goal, and the lack of guardrails in place that allow such incidents to keep happening. The reality is that the story of Theranos and Holmes is neither the first nor the last time such a thing has happened in Silicon Valley in the past few decades. And the five TV shows below, each portraying similar stories that have gripped national headlines, demonstrate that these stories continue to make excellent TV.
Inventing Anna
“Inventing Anna” is a Shonda Rhimes-produced Netflix adaptation of the story of Anna Delvey, a con artist responsible for defrauding banks, hotels, and acquaintances out of over $270,000. Similar to how Elizabeth Holmes was exposed via investigative reporting in the Wall Street Journal, “Inventing Anna” is based largely on the bombshell report about Delvey by Jessica Pressler (who is also an executive producer on the show) in New York Magazine. Delvey, whose real last name is Sorokin, is played by Julia Garner, who demonstrates Delvey’s two-faced abilities to appear to be a visionary and also a victim in need of monetary help from friends.
The most important similarity between “Inventing Anna” and “The Dropout” is the way it reveals that nothing the fraudsters do happens in a vacuum. Instead, it is also the people around them who, purposefully or not, create the environment that allows people like Holmes and Delvey to thrive. It’s the idea that a person needs only to “look and feel” the part of a wealthy young genius to be trusted rather than ever have to prove themselves by real tangible metrics.
WeCrashed
The story of WeWork made national news as an example of another failed company that was once extremely promising. That doesn’t sound that interesting until you begin to learn the bizarre details about WeWork leadership. “WeCrashed,” starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, is for any viewers of “The Dropout” who were particularly interested in just how weird these types of people can be while still somehow charming investors into millions of startup funds.
Elizabeth Holmes’ strangeness as both a real person and character is a highlight of “The Dropout” and, similarly, Leto does well to dwell between human and self-deluded and seemingly inhuman CEO as Adam Neumann in “WeCrashed.” From the accent to the actual dialogue, audiences are given a unique look at the type of “crazy person” it takes to thrive in startup culture. Hathaway is also the perfect foil as Rebekah Neumann, showing how even seemingly “normal” people can be hiding a level of neurosis that can become truly terrifying when in a position of power.
Super Pumped
If you liked “The Dropout” but wanted to know what it would have been like if Theranos actually had a useful product, then you’ll enjoy “Super Pumped” (originally titled “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber”). The series, which is based on the 2019 investigative book of the same name by Mike Isaac, stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who was ultimately ousted from Uber in a boardroom coup.
Much like “The Dropout,” “Super Pumped” is focused on the concept of the ruthless CEO and the corporate culture built from being led by that archetype. It’s hard to see Elizabeth Holmes as the lesser of two evils since she defrauded people, but given some of the more serious allegations lodged against Kalanick, including discrimination against and harassment of women, maybe there is room for argument.
Dopesick
Speaking of worse than Elizabeth Holmes fraud, “Dopesick” takes a much more serious tone than “The Dropout.” The TV series details several points of view in the opioid crisis, including a small-town doctor (Michael Keaton), the Sackler family (who aggressively pushed the sale of OxyContin), and former U.S. Attorney Rick Mountcastle (Peter Sarsgaard), who worked to bring about justice against those directly responsible for the crisis. The limited series unfolds as both an investigation into who and what created the opioid crisis, as well as an intimate portrait of the dozens of people who struggled with addiction as a result of unethical business practices.
Admittedly, “Dopesick” is much darker in tone than “The Dropout.” But if you liked the series depicting Holmes, you may be looking for something that doesn’t inadvertently make light of the serious consequences that come from corporate misdeeds. Besides this, “Dopesick” is just great TV. It was one of the best series of 2022, earning multiple Emmy nominations for the cast, writing, directing, and an Emmy win for Keaton in the category of outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration websiteor contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
The Girl from Plainville
While “The Dropout” is at the center of technology and one woman’s attempt to make true what wasn’t, “The Girl from Plainville” is centered around the bizarre yet harrowing case of one woman’s attempt to convince her boyfriend to take his own life via text message. The eight-episode miniseries stars Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter, a woman who was eventually found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for sending said text messages. Executive producer Liz Hannah, who also wrote for “The Dropout,” told Time Magazine that she was drawn to the story because she believed that there was more to Carter than the way she was being portrayed by the media.
Much like how “The Dropout” adds dimensions to Elizabeth Holmes, “The Girl from Plainville” is a character study of Carter, whom many may have inaccurately perceived by just reading the headlines. The series does not try to explain why Carter did what she did. Instead, it is more interested in discouraging the tendency to make quick judgments. “The Girl from Plainville” invites audiences to dig a little deeper into what we think we know, and encourages us to learn more instead.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat988lifeline.org.
