Hulu has given a straight-to-series-order to an eight-episode limited series called Dopesick. The series is based on Beth Macy’s bestselling book and is set to star Michael Keaton.
Dopesick is going to have quite the pedigree behind it. Barry Levinson is set to direct the project while Empire co-creator Danny Strong will serve as a writer on the limited series. Dopesick is described as an ambitious, harrowing, and compelling look into the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction. It takes viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan. The unsparing yet deeply human portraits of the various affected families and their intersecting stories hold up a mirror to where America is right now while shining a hopeful light on the heroes battling the worst drug epidemic in American history. Keaton is on board playing Samuel Finnix, an old-school doctor who approaches his practice with kindness and compassion, but finds himself embroiled in Big Pharma’s deadly secret.
Dopesick’s road to the screen began two years ago when, in a bidding situation, Fox 21 and studio-based Littlefield optioned Macy’s book “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America” to develop for television. Danny Strong has this to say about tackling the project:
“I’m so thrilled to tell this story with a company as bold and as daring as Hulu. The opioid crisis is one of the most important stories of our time and I’m honored to not only pay tribute to its victims but to shine a light on the heroes that fought back. Laws were broken and many lies were told. The system failed us and Dopesick is going to show everyone how it all happened.”
This marks Keaton’s most significant small screen commitment since his starring role in the 2013 TNT miniseries The Company. The actor will next be seen in Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of Chicago 7, Sony’s Marvel action film Morbius and Martin Campbell’s action thriller The Asset.
