Michael Showalter To Direct & Executive Produce ‘The Dropout’ Hulu Limited Series

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) is set to direct multiple episodes of Hulu’s limited drama series The Dropout based on ABC News/ABC Radio’s podcast about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes. Showalter also will executive produce the series, from Elizabeth Meriwether, Disney Television Studios’ 20th Television and Searchlight, along with his Semi-Formal Productions producing partner Jordana Mollick.

Created by Meriwether, The Dropout stars Amanda Seyfreid as Elizbeth Holmes, the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos, was lauded as a Steve Jobs for the next tech generation. Once worth billions of dollars, the myth crumbled when it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people’s health in grave danger. 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?

Naveen Andrews co-stars as Sunny Balwani.

Executive producing The Dropout alongside Showalter and Mollick are showrunner Meriwether, Liz Heldens, Liz Hannah, Katherine Pope, Rebecca Jarvis, Victoria Thompson and Taylor Dunn.

Showalter is the co-creator of the TBS/HBO Max series Search Party. He also co-created, exec produced and co-starred in Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer series followups to the 2001 movie he co-wrote and starred in. He recently wrapped production on the Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door written by Georgia Pritchett, starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. The Dropout reunites Showalter with Searchlight. This summer Searchlight Pictures will release his new film, The Eyes Of Tammy Faye, starring Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Vincent D’Onofrio and Cherry Jones. Showalter is repped by UTA, Artists First and  attorneys Rick Genow and Hannah Mulderink at Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.