Michael Keaton to star in Hulu's Dopesick opioid crisis drama from Empire's Danny Strong

The Hollywood Reporter

The Oscar-nominated actor is teaming with Empire co-creator Danny Strong and director Barry Levinson on a limited series based on Beth Macy's bestselling book exploring the opioid crisis. Described as an ambitious and harrowing look into the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction, Dopesick will take viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan. Keaton will play Samuel Finnix, "an old-school doctor who approaches his practice with kindness and compassion but finds himself embroiled in Big Pharma's deadly secret," per The Hollywood Reporter, which notes that this will be Keaton's first regular TV series role since TNT miniseries The Company in 2007. Strong, in his first project since Empire's finale, will serve as showrunner, Levinson as director and Warren Littlefield as executive producer. "The minute we met with Danny Strong about Beth Macy’s best-selling book, we immediately knew it was the kind of groundbreaking series we just had to bring to Hulu," said Hulu senior vice president of originals Craig Erwich. "Danny’s unflinching and deeply compelling take on America’s opioid crisis will bring to life one of the most important stories impacting our culture. Add to that the cinematic vision of Barry Levinson and the extraordinary talent of Michael Keaton, and we’ve got an undeniable series that perfectly embodies our Hulu Originals brand."