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Get ready: “The Dropout” debuted the first three episodes on Disney+ on March 3. The docuseries sheds light on Elizabeth Holmes’s creation of Theranos to its eventual crash due to claims that the medical technology only required a few drops of blood from a patient to yield hundreds of blood test results. The release comes just two months after Holmes was convicted of four out of 11 counts of fraud and conspiracy of investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought on the charges in 2018 and she is expected to face sentencing in September 2022.
Controversial matters aside, the Disney+ series does have a fun walk through memory lane when it comes to the early 2000s. Among the nods to the Y2K era are the invention of the first iPhone, now-cringy 2000s fashion, and the inability to escape Sean Paul’s 2005 hit “Temperature.” Ahead, see all the 2000s references in “The Dropout.”
Hulu / Beth Dubber
"The Dropout" Episode 1: "I'm In a Hurry"
- Music: “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake and “I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)” by Alabama play in the first episode.
- Technology: Holmes has a poster of Steve Jobs holding two of the early iMacs in her childhood bedroom, she jams out to music on the first iPod while in college, she uses an early Macbook for school, and she has a flip phone.
- Fashion and decor: Holmes wore Bermuda shorts, henley T-shirts, excessively layered her tops, and had several large collared shirts.
Hulu / Beth Dubber
"The Dropout" Episode 2: "Satori"
- Music: “We Run This” by Missy Elliott, “Temperature” by Sean Paul, “Crash and Burn Girl” by Robyn, and “Living In America” by DOM play in episode two.
- Technology: Holmes used a landline phone with a cord in her office, remotely communicated with a webcam attachment to her computer, and used an Apple iBook G4 laptop to read Theranos blood test results.
- Decor: Everyone knew at least one person in the early 2000s that had those blue plaid bed sheets. In “The Dropout,” Holmes uses them in her office.
Hulu / Beth Dubber
"The Dropout" Episode 3: "Green Juice"
- Music: “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse plays in episode three of “The Dropout.”
- Technology: Holmes’ business partner, Sunny Balwani (Naveen Andrews), used a Blackberry cellphone. Holmes, alongside thousands of others, waited in line for the first iPhone, and everyone was using a camcorder to document the historic moment. Later, Holmes is at the Apple store to have her phone upgraded and there is a poster of the first iPod Nano. Toward the end of the episode, Holmes’ mother Noel (Elizabeth Marvel) brags that her daughter is in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list with Mark Zuckerberg, known for creating Facebook – which was only used as a dating app at that time.
- Food fads: Balwani convinces Holmes to drink green juice any time she hasn’t eaten. Green juice dominated the food industry in the early 2000s and has slowly made its comeback.
