DOPESICK is a eight episode miniseries about drugs in the United States based on true stories.
The show is inspired by the book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors And The Drug Company That Addicted America by Beth Macy.
What is Dopesick about?
Hulu's Dopesick examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history.
The Hulu synopsis states: "The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA."
"Defying all the odds, heroes will emerge in an intense and thrilling ride to take down the craven corporate forces behind this national crisis and their allies."
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The series is lead by Executive Producer Danny Strong and is also executive produced by Michael Keaton.
Who is in the cast of Dopesick?
Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton is playing Dr. Samuel Finnix, who is the man at the center of the opioid crisis in Finch Creek, Virginia.
Keaton's career began back in the 1970s with recurring roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Hour and Working Stiffs.
But he came to prominence in the eighties as Bill Blazejowski in Night Shift and Betelgeuse in hit movie Beetlejuice.
He followed these up by playing Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman and Batman Returns and returned to this role in 2022, playing Batman in the movie The Flash.
His other movies include playing creepy tenant Carter Hayes in Pacific Heights, FBI agent Ray Nicolette in movie Jackie Brown and Riggan in Birdman.
Keaton told Parade that Dopesick is a "David-and-Goliath story” and added: "It shines a light on white-collar America and its guilt."
Will Poulter
Will Poulter stars as Billy Cutler, who is a new and naive pharmaceutical representative for Purdue Pharma.
At the age of just 13 Will Poulter burst on to the movie scene in Son Of Rambow.
He has gone on to enjoy success in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Wild Bill and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
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Poulter is best known for his roles in Detroit, The Revenant, and the Amazon miniseries The Underground Railroad.
The Brit played Adam Warlock in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3, considered one of the most powerful characters in Marvel history.
The Brit actor told The Face: "I read the book by Beth Macy, and thought it was absolutely stunning and amazingly informative."
He added: "The opioid epidemic in the States is something that always interested me, and concerned me from afar.
"It was the sort of story that I wanted to learn more about, and participate in somehow. So when I first read the script, it was spooky."
Kaitlyn Dever
Kaitlyn Dever stars as Betsy Mallum in Dopesick - a woman who becomes a victim of the opioid crisis.
Dever told Screen Rant: "As soon as she [Betsy] takes her first Oxy pill, there's a moment in which there's a lot of hope for her and the feeling that she can finally live and live without pain.
"And then that all completely shatters and gets completely ruined by the drug."
Dever has starred in a number of TV series including Justified, Unbelievable, Monsterland, and Last Man Standing.
She's also appeared in movies All Summers End and Beautiful Boy, and was in Detroit alongside her Dopesick cast member Poulter.
Michael Stuhlbarg
Michael Stuhlbarg is playing Richard Sackler, the chairman and CEO of Purdue Pharma.
He is the biggest name on the cast line-up.
Stuhlbarg is one of Hollywood's most widely respected character actors.
He has appeared in movies such as A Serious Man (2009), Call Me By Your Name (2017), and The Shape of Water (2017), and TV series such as Boardwalk Empire, Fargo, and The Staircase.
John Hoogenakker
John Hoogenakker stars as Randy Ramsay, who is a U.S attorney and Rick Mountcastle's partner in unraveling the truth around OxyContin and Purdue Pharma's web of lies.
Hoogenakker has played in a number of TV series before Dopesick, including Castle Rock, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, and Colony, as well as appearing in movies like Contagion (2011).
We were continually awestruck by the audacity of Purdue’s actions surrounding the promotion of OxyContin and its interactions with the FDA.
John Hoogenakker on the atmosphere on set
He told The Italian Reve in 2021 about his first reaction when reading the script: "I was struck by how well it was written and by how passionately and thoroughly it had been researched.
"Learning of the machinations that went into creating addicts and then maligning them in order to continue strengthening a culture of overprescribing opioids was a revelation of a heartbreaking and all too unsurprising storyline, given the challenges we face here, with commerce so closely intertwined in our government, and its interests of more importance than those of our citizens.
"Also, for being about such a complicated subject matter, it does a wonderful job charting the progression of the crisis and humanizing people suffering from opioid addiction.
"This is thanks in large part, of course, to the source material provided by Beth Macy’s book, “Dopesick.”
Peter Sarsgaard
Peter Sarsgaard is playing Rick Mountcastle, who is one of the two U.S. attorney pursuing legal actions with the Justice Department against Purdue Pharma.
Sarsgaard was nominated for an Emmy for his role in Dopesick.
The actor is known for his roles in movies such as Jarhead (2005), Shattered Glass (2003), and his recent role as Gil Colson in The Batman (2022).
He revealed to NME that he almost took opiates himself.
Sarsgaard said: “I’ve had a near miss with it, where I was offered it once at a time in my life where there was a 50/50 chance whether I was going to put that thing in my mouth.
“Luckily, I didn’t.
"I grew up with everybody saying ‘don’t touch anything that is in this family of drugs ever’ and that was very effective.
"So there was for me, no cocaine, heroin, PCP… anything like that.
“Nothing that has been refined to the point where it’s like a chemical.
"Things in nature tend to grow at a potency that if you happen to eat it, you’re not going to die immediately!”
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson is portraying Bridget Meyer, a DEA agent who has taken on the fight against opioids and helps Mountcastle and Ramseyer take on Purdue Pharma while in the middle of a divorce.
She has appeared in a variety of movies and TV series including Daredevil, Clerks II (2006), and Rent (2005).
After making her live-action debut as Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian, Dawson returned to play her in the Star Wars series Ahsoka.
Hopefully this will be really helpful in building people’s empathy and also their urgency.
Rosario Dawson on Dopesick
Other cast member include:
- Jake McDorman as John Brownlee
- Ray McKinnon as Jerry Mallum
- Cleopatra Coleman as Grace Pell
- Will Chase as Michael Freedman
- Phillipa Soo as Amber Collins
- Jaime Ray Newman as Kathe Sackler
- Andrea Frankle as Beth Sackler
- Rebecca Wisocky as Cynthia McCormick
- Meagen Fay as Sister Beth Davis
- Trevor Long as Rudy Guiliani
- Michael Pollock as Himself
When do the Dopesick episodes premiere?
Overall, there are eight episodes in the series.
The series is available to stream on Disney+ and BBC iPlayer.
BBC Two is showing two episodes every Sunday starting from Sunday April 28, 2024 at 10 pm.
The schedule is as follows:
- Episode 1: Sunday, April 28
- Episode 2: Sunday, April 28
- Episode 3: Sunday, May 5, 2024
- Episode 4: Sunday, May 5, 2024
- Episode 5: Sunday, May 12, 2024
- Episode 6: Sunday, May 12, 2024
- Episode 7: Sunday, May 19, 2024
- Episode 8: Sunday, May 19, 2024
