Barry Levinson to direct Michael Keaton in Hulu series Dopesick

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After completing his contribution to Marvel's MORBIUS, and starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Maggie Q for Martin Campbell's action thriller THE ASSET, Michael Keaton has signed on to star in director Barry Levinson's DOPESICK, an eight-episode limited series for Hulu.

Based on Beth Macy's bestselling novel, Dopesick is described as an ambitious, harrowing, and compelling look into the epicenter of America’s struggle with Opioid addiction. It takes viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan.

Hulu recently gave the project a straight-to-series order, with Levinson set to direct and Empire co-creator/exec producer Danny Strong serving as writer and showrunner. For the series, Keaton will play the part 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 best-selling book, we immediately knew it was the kind of groundbreaking series we just had to bring to Hulu," Hulu senior vp originals Craig Erwich said. "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."

"Although we were sharply aware of and empathetic to the horrifying pain caused by the opioid crisis for millions in this country, we were blown away when Warren Littlefield showed us Beth Macy’s book Dopesick. Consequently, Danny Strong had been crafting his own telling of the opiate epidemic and in typical Danny form, it was mesmerizing," said Fox 21 TV Studios president Bert Salke. "The fact that Warren and Danny are collaborating on this is a studio’s dream. Together with Barry Levinson and Michael Keaton, we have every reason to believe this important story will be one of the TV events of the coming year."

When Keaton arrives as Samuel Finnix for Levinson's DOPESICK, the series will mark the actor's most significant television role since playing James Angleton for the TNT's 2013 miniseries THE COMPANY.

In terms of how the show came to land at Hulu, it's been reported that Strong, who has an overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, was invited to work for Fox 21 on the DOPESICK project. In February, DOPESICK had moved from FX to Hulu, where the show was met with an intense amount of excitement on behalf of the studio's executives.

With Levinson and Keaton on board, DOPESICK sounds as if it's a project to watch, and perhaps another reason to consider a Hulu subscription. We'll be sure to bring you more details about this project as it develops.