"The Dropout" Nails Y2K, From Angry Birds to Katy Perry's "Firework"

By Naledi Ushe

Updated on 3/11/2022 at 12:50 PM

Hulu
Hulu

"The Dropout" released its first three episodes on Hulu on March 3, and things are ramping up. The docuseries depicts Elizabeth Holmes's founding of Theranos to its eventual crash. The release comes just two months after Holmes was convicted of four out of 11 counts of conspiracy and fraud, which were brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018. Her sentencing is scheduled to take place in September 2022.

The Hulu series impeccably captures the early 2000s. Nods to the era include the release of the first iPhone, cringy 2000s fashion, and the omnipresence of Sean Paul's "Temperature" and Katy Perry's "Firework." Ahead, see all the 2000s references in Hulu's "The Dropout."

"The Dropout" Episode 1: "I'm in a Hurry"
Hulu

"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 in college to music on the first iPod, she uses an early MacBook, and she has a flip phone.
  • Fashion and decor: Holmes wears Bermuda shorts and Henley T-shirts, excessively layers her tops, and has several large collared shirts.
"The Dropout" Episode 2: "Satori"
Hulu

"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 uses a landline phone with a cord, communicates via a webcam attached to her computer, and uses an Apple iBook G4 laptop to read Theranos blood-test results.
  • Decor: Everyone knew at least one person in the early 2000s with those blue-plaid bed sheets. In "The Dropout," Holmes uses them in her office.
"The Dropout" Episode 3: "Green Juice"
Hulu

"The Dropout" Episode 3: "Green Juice"

  • Music: "Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse plays in episode three.
  • Technology: Holmes's boyfriend and business partner, Sunny Balwani (Naveen Andrews), uses a Blackberry cellphone. Holmes waits in line for the first iPhone; a camcorder is used to document the historic moment. Later, when Holmes is at the Apple store getting her phone upgraded, there is a poster of the first iPod Nano. Toward the end of the episode, Holmes's mother (Elizabeth Marvel) brags that her daughter has made Forbes's 30 Under 30 list along with Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook — which, at the time, was still used as a dating site.
  • Food fads: Balwani convinces Holmes to drink green juice. Green juice dominated the food industry in the early 2000s and is now making a comeback.
"The Dropout" Episode 4: "Old White Men"
Hulu

"The Dropout" Episode 4: "Old White Men"

  • Music: "Firework" by Katy Perry plays in episode four of "The Dropout."
  • Technology: Someone plays Angry Birds, which came out in 2009, in the elevator.
  • Education: A commercial plays on the car radio for the Common Core, which was introduced in schools in 2010.
  • Politics: An elevator TV shows then-president Barack Obama speaking about the war in Afghanistan. Another scene depicts a meeting between Holmes and former US Secretary of State George Shultz, who would later become a Theranos board member.
  • Movies: The lead lab investigator for Walgreens asks a pharmacy executive if they'd finished the 2009 film "The Blind Side."