Dopesick (miniseries)

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.[1][6][7]

Alongside the miniseries announcement, Michael Keaton was also cast in a starring role.[8] 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.[9][10][11][12][13] In October 2020, Rosario Dawson was cast as a series regular, while Ray McKinnon was cast in a recurring role.[14][15] In November 2020, Cleopatra Coleman joined the cast in a recurring role.[16] In December 2020, Michael Stuhlbarg was cast as a series regular.[17] In January 2021, Jaime Ray Newman, Andrea Frankle and Will Chase joined the cast in recurring roles.[18] In March 2021, Rebecca Wisocky and Meagen Fay were cast in recurring capacities.[19] In April 2021, Trevor Long joined the cast of the series in a recurring capacity.[20]

Principal photography began in December 2020 in Richmond, Virginia and Clifton Forge, Virginia and continued through May 2021.[21] North Carolina and Georgia were in contention, but Virginia was selected for its tax incentives and locations.[22]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 89% approval rating with an average rating of 7.7/10, based on 70 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."[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Joel Keller of Decider called the series ambitious and sprawling, stating Danny Strong succeeds to provide different stories in a non-linear fashion, and praised the performances of the cast, writing, "The series is definitely buoyed by its strong performances, from Keaton’s reserved and reticent Dr. Fennix, to Dever's confident portrayal of Betsy, who just wants to be herself but knows it can’t be in her hometown. Sarsgaard and Dawson do their usual excellent work."[27] Fionnuala Halligan of Screen Daily applauded the performances of the actors, calling the cast "stellar," and praised Strong's writing for not sugarcoating the exploration of the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma's role in America's opioid crisis, stating, "The result is a solid, increasingly effective and satisfyingly well-made drama."[28]

Ed Cumming of The Independent rated the miniseries 5 out of 5 stars, found Dopesick to be an ambitious drama series, saying, "It aims to explore the scandal from the Sacklers down, opening with the development of the drug in the 1980s, to show how greedy bosses and avaricious sales reps were able to hijack the good intentions of doctors all over the country," praised the performances of the cast members and called the script "admirably tight," while complimenting the direction.[29] Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the series an A-, praised the performances of the cast and their chemistry, writing, "Dopesick deftly corrals the vast addiction epidemic through intimate, deeply engrossing stories of human devastation."[30] 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."[31] Matt Cabral of Common Sense Media rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing teamwork and benevolence, and complimented the diverse representations of the actors.[32]