Michael Keaton’s TV roles since becoming a movie star with 1983’s Mr. Mom have been few and far between. There’s been the occasional voice acting role (The Simpsons, King of the Hill) and he’s not above a comedic cameo (30 Rock, Documentary Now, Last Week Tonight), but the Oscar-nominated actor has mainly stuck to the big screen. That’s what makes his lead role in the Hulu eight-episode series Dopesick so intriguing.
Created by Danny Strong (Empire) Dopesick “examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history,” according to the official plot summary. “The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma to a distressed Virginia mining community to the hallways of the DEA. Defying all the odds, heroes will emerge in an intense and thrilling ride to take down the craven corporate forces behind this national crisis and their allies.” It’s based on the Beth Macy book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America, and also stars Uproxx favorites Kaitlyn Dever and Michael Stuhlbarg. It’s surprising that he hasn’t already played her supportive dad in a movie.
Dopesick, which also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Will Poulter, John Hoogenakker, and Rosario Dawson, premieres on Wednesday, October 13.