Los Angeles: Michael Keaton will be making his streaming debut with Hulu's upcoming opiod crisis series "Dopesick". The show is based on a New York Times bestselling book by author Beth Macy with "Empire" co-creator Danny Strong penning the scripts and serving as showrunner, the streamer announced in a statement. Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson will direct the eight-episode series which will be produced by Disney-owned Fox 21 TV Studios.
Described as an "ambitious, harrowing, and compelling look into the epicenter of America's struggle with Opioid addiction", the series 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, 68, will essay the role of Samuel Finnix, an old-school doctor who approaches his practice with kindness and compassion, but finds himself embroiled in Big Pharma's deadly secret.
"The minute we met with Danny Strong about Beth Macy's bestselling book, we immediately knew it was the kind of groundbreaking series we just had to bring to Hulu. 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," Craig Erwich, SVP of Originals at Hulu, said.
Strong, Keaton, Levinson, Macy, Warren Littlefield, John Goldwyn and Karen Rosenfelt will executive produce the project.
