Hulu‘s new drama Dopesick dives deep into the origins and devastating effects of the opioid crisis, which is now regarded as the worst drug epidemic in American history. The series explores the rise of OxyContin from the perspective of its creator, Purdue Pharma — who downplayed its addictive qualities in order to sell the drug to largely working-class patients — as well as doctors and patients dealing with the epidemic across the United States.
Starring Michael Keaton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Kaitlyn Dever, and more, Dopesick tracks the crisis from the Purdue boardroom to the mines of Virginia to the DEA to provide a detailed account of the opioid crisis. But how much of it is based on real events?
Here’s what to know:
Is Hulu’s Dopesick based on a true story?
Yes. While the characters in Dopesick are largely fictionalized, America’s opioid crisis is very real. The show is specifically based on journalist Beth Macy’s 2018 book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, which explores how the opioid crisis has spread across and impacted America over the past 20 years. The book tackles these complex topics by focusing on how a drug dealer’s arrival impacts a Virginia town.
“I am hopeful that once people start understanding how we have all been stigmatizing people who use drugs, that maybe our system will catch up with that,” Macy told NPR in a recent interview. She also revealed she’s working on a follow-up book to Dopesick that will come out in 2022.
Was Beth Macy involved in the making of Dopesick?
Yes. Macy was present in the Dopesick writers’ room throughout Season 1. According to her, she actually uncovered new information about the epidemic while working on the series.
“As we were working on this show, more and more documents were coming out [about Big Pharma scandals and victims],” Macy told NPR. “Some documents were leaked to us, but then others were just part of these very in-depth legal filings from attorneys general… that we were also able to pull from.”
Are the Dopesick characters based on real people?
Partially. Stuhlbarg’s character, Richard Sackler — who was the chairman of Purdue Pharma and played a large role in aggressively marketing the drug — is a real businessman. Dopesick also features Sackler’s cousins Beth Sackler (Andrea Frankle) and Kathe Sackler (Jamie Ray Newman).
Other characters, like young coal miner Betsy (Dever) and the skeptical Dr. Finnix (Keaton), were inspired by some of Macy’s own interview subjects.
Is Dopesick streaming? Where to watch Dopesick:
It is! The first three episodes of Dopesick premiered on Hulu on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The series’ subsequent five episodes will stream weekly on Wednesdays.
This post first appeared on Nypost.com
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