Emmy winner ‘SNL’ was ready to play Theranos’ founder and executive producer.
Kate McKinnon left Hulu’s The Dropout.
THE Saturday Night Live The Emmy winner came out of the limited series about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. McKinnon was supposed to star as Holmes and the executive produced the series that is based on the ABC News podcast of the same name.
Sources say the launch of Hulu, which was among the originals released during Disney’s investor day in December, is advancing without McKinnon. The search for a new star is underway and production should begin this summer. It is not clear why McKinnon left the drama, that she should have started shooting after the closure SNLcurrent season in May.
The Dropout it was one of two series that McKinnon lined up outside of SNL. She is still ready to star and produce NBCUniversal executives Joe Exotic series, which is set to debut in 2022 on NBC, USA and on the Peacock streamer. McKinnon signed up for The Dropout before boarding Joe Exotic.
Based on the ABC News podcast, the limited series traces how Holmes raised hundreds of millions to fund the biotechnology start-up and became a media darling while hiding the fact that his touted blood testing machine didn’t really work. It was supposed to be the first regular role in the series for McKinnon. The drama is based on an ABC News podcast with the same name, which also served as the basis for a 20/20 episode.
The series was produced by Fox Searchlight’s TV division a year ago. Rebecca Jarvis, presenter of the podcast, ABC News business, economics and technology correspondent, will executive produce with McKinnon. Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson, who produced the podcast, will also be EPs in the series.