Dopesick (miniseries)
Dopesick is an American drama miniseries created by Danny Strong based on the nonfiction book "Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America" by Beth Macy. The first three episodes of the eight-episode series were released on October 13, 2021, on Hulu. Premise. "Dopesick" focuses on "the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction" across the U.S., on how individuals and families affected by it, on the alleged conflicts of interest between various government agencies like the FDA and DOJ and the Purdue Pharma, and finally, on the legal case against Purdue Pharma and  their development, testing and marketing of the drug OxyContin. Production. Development. On June 17, 2020, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a limited series order consisting of eight episodes based on the book, "Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America" by Beth Macy. The series was created by Danny Strong who also serves as executive producer alongside Michael Keaton, Warren Littlefield, John Goldwyn, Beth Macy, Karen Rosenfelt, and Barry Levinson who directed the limited series. Production companies involved with the series are 20th Television (replacing the initially announced Fox 21 Television Studios), John Goldwyn  Productions and The Littlefield Company. Casting. Alongside the miniseries announcement, Michael Keaton was also cast in a starring role. In September 2020, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever, Will Poulter, and John Hoogenakker joined the main cast, with Phillipa Soo and Jake McDorman joining in recurring roles. In October 2020, Rosario Dawson was cast as a series regular while Ray McKinnon was cast in a recurring role. In November 2020, Cleopatra Coleman joined the cast in a recurring role. In December 2020, Michael Stuhlbarg was cast as a series regular. In January 2021, Jaime Ray Newman, Andrea Frankle and Will Chase joined  the cast in recurring roles. In March 2021, Rebecca Wisocky and Meagen Fay were cast in recurring capacities. In April 2021, Trevor Long joined the cast of the series in a recurring capacity. Filming. Principal photography began in December 2020 in Richmond, Virginia and Clifton Forge, Virginia and continued through May 2021. North Carolina and Georgia were in contention, but Virginia was selected for its tax incentives and locations. Release. "Dopesick" was released on Hulu on October 13, 2021. The first episode screened at the Virginia Film Festival on October 30, 2021, followed by a discussion with Danny Strong and  Beth Macy. Internationally, the series premiered on the Star content hub of Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar and Star+ on November 12, 2021, The first two episodes airing that day with subsequent episodes released on Wednesdays. Reception. Critical response. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10, based on 64 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, ""Dopesick" at times sinks under the weight of its subject matter, but strong performances from Michael Keaton and Kaitlyn Dever and an empathetic approach to the very real people impacted by the opioid crisis make  for harrowing drama." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Kristen Baldwin of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the series an A- and said, ""Dopesick" deftly corrals the vast addiction epidemic through intimate, deeply engrossing stories of human devastation." Reviewing the series for "USA Today", Kelly Lawler gave a rating of 3 out of 4 stars and described the cast as "excellent and empathetic, helping ground the series. Keaton is at his best, mastering a character who's a mess of contradictions and transformation."