Diving into the epicentre of the growing opioid addiction in the United States, Dopesick – produced by Emmy winner Danny Strong and starring the dynamic Michael Keaton – will see Australia finally be able to gain an understanding of what the internet has been going nuts about for the past month.
With the name deriving from the agonising pain that drug addicts go through when experiencing withdraw, Dopesick explores the world of addiction, dramatising it in a factor that’s as spot-on as watching it unfold before your eyes, forming an overview that’s much more in-depth than a simple documentary on opioids.
From exploring the boardrooms of Big Pharma, the offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration, there will be triumphs, failures, and thrilling rides through the corporate fields that seem to be against the opioid addiction, yet for it in the same manner.
Not only does Dopesick‘s star-laden cast focus on those who are struggling with addiction, but turn a finger towards the pharmaceutical companies who are basically fuelling the fire through corporate recklessness, greed, and exposes the wrongdoings that have caused many to succumb to the same addictions.
Deriving from the very real struggle that has frustrated many across the world, the miniseries delves into the one of the most hated families in America – members of the Sackler Family who owned and ran big-time pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma.
They’ve been blamed for fuelling the opioid epidemic through their selling of high-strength painkiller OxyContin, resulting in the addiction and death of nearly half a million Americans. By marketing the drug as an easy fix for back ache, knee pain, and the likes – even knowing how addictive it is – the family has been accused of being the cause of the opioid addiction across America.
Watch the official trailer for Dopesick
More so, the members of the Sackler family blamed the addiction on addicts, and tried to shift responsibility from themselves, and the profit they had gained over time.
Even through the crimes have been accused, the family has dodged lawsuit after lawsuit, leaving many who lost loved ones disheartened. Producer Danny Strong brings this show to life by wanting to give the company and family the trial that they never received, while revealing the mess behind the crimes, and the path of destruction they’ve caused.
Adapted from the book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America by American journalist and non-fiction writer Beth Macy, executive producers Danny Strong, Michael Keaton (who’s also the main character), John Goldwyn, Warren Littlefield, Beth Macy, Karen Rosenfelt and director Barry Levinson put a twist on the original story by bringing a cast able to express the frustrating emotions through the series.
Then, with high quality talent like Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Will Poulter, John Hoogenakker, Kaitlyn Dever, and Rosario Dawson, the miniseries drama is taken to entirely new level with acting that hits you in the face with pure, raw emotion.
Listed as heart-wrenching, frustrating, and all-around sobering miniseries, Dopesick will have you enthralled, sickened, wanting to make a difference, and appalled all at the same time, which is quite the list of emotions when it comes to television drama. But, in the best way, Dopesick has opened eyes towards depths of addiction that some aren’t aware of, and in the same way of drugs, the show keeps you wanting more, even if it destroys you all at the same time.
So, for those ready to dive into a new hard-hitting series, Dopesick will premier on Disney+ on Friday, November 12th. Although they’re dropping the first two episodes on release date, you’ll be left in suspense and craving more as the series will be releasing new episodes weekly with a total of eight episodes in the miniseries.
