October 21, 2026, 12:22 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Typically, films and series are most successful right at their release. The older a title gets, the more interest wanes, which is completely normal. It’s all the more surprising that the series “The Dropout” about Elizabeth Holmes has seen a sudden spike in streaming views. But why?
Elizabeth Holmes Deceived Investors
The story of Elizabeth Holmes has made waves in recent years. The 42-year-old founded the company Theranos, which received a multibillion-dollar valuation in the 2010s. This was due to the promise that the company had revolutionized the blood testing process.
However, it later emerged that Holmes and Theranos were not honest with investors or the government, and that the entrepreneur and others committed fraud to obtain funds from investors.
In 2022, Holmes was sentenced to eleven and a half years in prison. Additionally, she and her former business partner and lover Ramesh Balwani must pay $452 million in damages.
“The Dropout” Sees Renewed Interest
Hollywood is known for its love of true stories about the rise and fall of individuals. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the case of Elizabeth Holmes was also deemed worth telling. In 2022, the miniseries “The Dropout” starring superstar Amanda Seyfried in the lead role was released on Hulu and Disney+. Among other accolades, Seyfried won an Emmy for her role as Holmes, and the series itself received numerous nominations and awards.
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That was a few years ago, and interest in “The Dropout” should have waned. Yet, as the U.S. industry magazine “Variety” reports, views suddenly increased by 186 percent at the beginning of September. This wasn’t just a brief spike, as the increase continued until mid-October. Further numbers highlight the growing interest: In August, the series was streamed for 420,000 hours, while in September, it reached 1.2 million hours.
Search interest in the series has also grown significantly, up to 200 percent.
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Documentary on Elizabeth Holmes Fuels “The Dropout”
The renewed interest in “The Dropout” isn’t due to a new development in the Holmes case per se. Instead, it’s about “You Can See Everything,” an experimental documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. The filmmakers visited Holmes and her current partner Billy Evans 34 days before Holmes began her prison sentence.
The nearly three-hour documentary received rave reviews from both the press and moviegoers who have already seen it in the U.S. or at festivals. On Rotten Tomatoes, 98 percent of all professional reviews are positive, and on Letterboxd, the film quickly became the highest-rated title in the platform’s history shortly after its release.
Even before its U.S. theatrical release, a considerable hype developed for a documentary, bringing Elizabeth Holmes back into the public consciousness. This, in turn, seems to have benefited “The Dropout.” The streaming increase coincided directly with an announcement about “You Can See Everything,” which revealed that the documentary was partially filmed secretly. The sustained interest in the series was linked to the approaching theatrical release of the documentary.
Streaming “The Dropout”
“The Dropout” is currently available to stream on Disney+ and MagentaTV. As for “You Can See Everything,” there is no German theatrical release date yet. However, according to “Filmstarts,” Sony has secured the international distribution rights, making a local release likely.