Amanda Seyfried is Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu’s The Dropout

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, March 1. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

The Dropout (Hulu, 12:01 a.m.): The bonkers story based on Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes is being helmed by New Girl’s Elizabeth Meriweather. Amanda Seyfried gets the long-overdue space and spotlight as Holmes, a role that Kate McKinnon, er, dropped out of. Naveen Andrews plays Sunny Balwani, Holmes’ boyfriend/chief enabler. Randall Colburn is recapping the show weekly. The first three episodes drop tonight.

The Tourist (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Leila Latif’s description of this action drama as “fun” is a surprise, as is her new understanding of The Tourist’s lead, Jamie Dornan:

“When he first came to international attention, it was as Christian Grey, a kinky but bland billionaire in the 50 Shades trilogy. Those films were never considered high art, but have aged like warm milk, along with Dornan’s comments that he researched his role as the serial killer in The Fall by stalking unsuspecting women. But credit where it’s due—Dornan now joins the ranks of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and former co-star Dakota Johnson as a person who made interesting choices after their franchise ended and looks to become one of our credible millennial actors. The actor delighted audiences in recent hits like Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar and Belfast.”

Regular coverage

Wild cards

Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Jesse Hassenger was lukewarm in his review of this hotly anticipated Taika Waititi project, a pirate-comedy centering on Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard.

“Despite some modern sensibilities, the show has surprisingly solid historical roots. Stede Bonnet was a real-life aristocrat turned pirate, and the first five episodes of Our Flag Means Death (from a 10-episode first season) capture the broad details of his story—though if the show continues on the real Bonnet’s path, it will be a relatively short and grim run. Flag staves off this perpetually looming darkness with a mixed bag of silliness. Some of it is inspired: Stede forces his crew to design handmade pirate flags, and presides over a Life Aquatic-esque tour of his custom-made facilities, which include a substantial and hard-to-tidy library. Much of the show’s comedy, however, is more mildly amusing than hilarious—and sometimes downright tedious.”

Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+, 3:01 a.m., season-two premiere): Sir Patrick Stewart reprises his iconic role of Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation for this drama, which follows him in the next phase of his life. Season two consists of 10 episodes.

The Problem With Jon Stewart (Apple+,12:01 am): Hosted by late-night vet Jon Stewart, each hour-long episode of this talk show focuses on a single issue that is currently part of the national conversation. After airing four outings last year, the show returns with an episode on the stock market.

Joe Vs. Carole (Peacock, 3:01 a.m.): Hey, remember the time the world got obsessed with Joe Exotic a.k.a. Tiger King and his nemesis Carole Baskin, thanks to Netflix’s perfectly timed 2020 docuseries Tiger King? Two years later, Peacock is turning their real-life drama into a live-action series. Kate McKinnon—who was originally set to play Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout—plays Baskin. John Cameron Mitchell is Joe Exotic. The rest of the cast includes Kyle MacLachlan and Dean Winters.