Dopesick (2021)
Click to viewThis is a Hulu original limited series (aka a mini-series), based on the book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy. It will be 8 episodes, with the first three released already, and the rest will be out weekly.
The story covers the rise and fall of Oxycontin and how so many people became addicted. This is "based on true events" and I don't know exactly how much is accurate and how much is for dramatic effect, but one bit early on was something I hadn't known. When Oxycontin was created, it was almost like Purdue had a medication in search of patients, and set about creating the need through aggressive marketing to doctors. The initial sales were focused on mining communities on purpose, then when it wasn't working as (literally) advertised pharmaceutical reps were told to convince doctors to increase the dosage.
The story switches from testimony being given back to the events they're referring to in the past. We get the focus on an Appalachian doctor (Michael Keaton) who prescribes Oxy to the locals with no idea it's going to turn into a nightmare. One of his patients is a young female mine worker who's trying to get enough money to move away to be with her girlfriend in a more queer accepting city.
Then there are inside glimpses into Purdue's operation, and honestly I can't tell how much the family believed their own bullshit or just simply didn't care. They definitely come across as already rich assholes who want to be even richer. There's also a focus on the pharmaceutical reps, especially the one visiting the aforementioned small town Appalachia doctor, who sometimes seems to be questioning what he's being told, but he's not yet doing anything about.
We also see multiple government investigators who begin unraveling the lies that begin right from the creation of the drug, such as taking video filmed as a generic pain management PSA and inserting the Ocycontin brand logo into to make it seem like patients were praising it. They're also delving into the elaborate and expensive "seminars" used to convince doctors the medication was safe to prescribe to their patients, and sales goals and even contests that pushed reps to lie to doctors and bully pharmacies.
It's not done, so they might not stick the landing, but so far it's good. Keaton is really good as the small town doctor, and I guess the actors portraying the Sackler family and the pharmacy reps are doing a good job because I want to strangle every last one of them.