The Dropout (2022)

The series succeeds as a scam show by delivering nuanced portraiture of Elizabeth Holmes through Amanda Seyfried’s layered performance and by effectively capturing the gradual snowballing of the fraud from sincere ambition into deception. It stands out among similar recent shows for balancing gravity with humor without oversimplifying its themes.

The series tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes straightforwardly and chronologically, slowly drawing the viewer in with high stakes and an enthralling rise. It features an excellent supporting cast.

The series succeeds as a sharp, well-edited portrait that makes Holmes understandable without excusing her, thanks to Seyfried's viscerally effective performance and strong supporting work. It avoids the pitfalls of similar true-story shows by staying focused and concise.

The show is a compelling character study that lives and dies on Seyfried's performance as a pitiful but never pitiable Holmes. It avoids exonerating her or turning her into a girlboss figure.

The series plays the story straight, possibly too straight, but the jaw-dropping tale of fraud saves it. Amanda Seyfried gives a hugely skilful performance as Elizabeth Holmes that keeps the viewer's attention and even sympathy.

The Dropout stands out for its excellent, enigmatic lead performance by Seyfried and a superb ensemble that captures human-scale elements of the deception. It offers bloody good performances even if the story covers familiar ground.

The Dropout is a nuanced character study of Holmes as a driven, trance-like figure whose ambition leads to her undoing. Seyfried delivers an unshakeable lead performance supported by a strong cast, making it a fascinating watch.

The Hulu series offers a largely straightforward, surface-level account of the Theranos scandal that remains compulsively watchable thanks to strong lead performances. It functions more as a primer than a deep dive into the events.

The series is a vanilla, by-the-numbers retelling that fails to capture the magnetism or depth of the real scandal despite strong supporting turns. It relies on the inherent interest of the true story rather than bold creative choices or insightful writing.

The first three episodes feel like heavy pre-mitigation but later episodes gather pace showing Holmes's ruthlessness. Amanda Seyfried is hypnotising as Holmes.

The series portrays Elizabeth Holmes with too much admiration, framing her as a lone female warrior in a male-dominated world rather than interrogating her fraud and risks. It drags with dawdling dialogue despite Seyfried's strong performance.

The critic deems it the best 'scammer show' yet, praising its balanced approach that avoids forcing sympathy and its captivating portrayal of ambition and downfall. It singles out the excellent cast performances, especially Amanda Seyfried, Naveen Andrews, and Stephen Fry.

The critic finds the series a sturdy but overly straightforward drama that dutifully covers the facts of the Theranos scandal without much deeper insight into Holmes' psyche. It praises the strong ensemble cast, particularly Stephen Fry's soulful performance as Ian Gibbons.

The critic calls it a highly watchable miniseries with strong performances that goes beyond simple retelling by exploring why people enabled Holmes and the human elements in her orbit. It notes some faltering but ultimately finds it intriguing and a strong example of the true-crime genre.