Michael Keaton takes on the opioid crisis in Hulu’s Dopesick
Also tonight: Legends Of Tomorrow and The Sinner return with new seasons, and Disney+ horror comedy anthology Just Beyond
TV Lists Dopesick
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Wednesday, October 13. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Dopesick (Hulu, 12:01 a.m., series premiere): Based on Beth Macy’s best-selling book of the same name, this gloomy limited series centers on the rise of OxyContin, and how it triggered the worst opioid epidemic in the country. The story moves from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma, owned and run by the Sackler family, to DEA hallways to a small mining community in Virginia. The cast includes Michael Keaton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Kaitlyn Dever, Rosario Dawson, Will Poulter, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Hoogenakker. Look for Danette Chavez’s review on the site today.
Regular coverage
Legends Of Tomorrow (The CW, 8 p.m., season-seven premiere): The show returns for season seven with the premiere, “The Bullet Blondes,” wherein the Legends find themselves in 1925 Odessa, Texas, in the company of FBI’s first director, J. Edgar Hoover. Jarrod Jones will be recapping the series weekly, taking over for Allison Shoemaker.
Wild cards
The Sinner (USA, 10 p.m., season-four premiere): “Over the course of four seasons, The Sinner has slowly transitioned from a show of weirdo character studies and conspiracy wormholes with some elements of a procedural mystery, to a procedural mystery with some weirdo character studies and the occasional conspiracy. That shift in emphasis isn’t a major one, but it’s significant enough that the new season feels almost more akin to detective-show comfort food than the unsettling crime drama of years past.
Some of that may simply be familiarity: Viewers are well-acquainted by now with Bill Pullman’s haunted (and now retired) detective Harry Ambrose, who travels to a small island community for an extended vacation with new girlfriend Sonya (Jessica Hecht), only to get pulled into investigating the strange disappearance of a woman (Alice Kremelberg) he thinks he witnesses vanish in the night. But some of it is also intentional. This looks to be the most straightforward season yet, a missing person case more interested in dishing out steady helpings of clues than characters. Meaning, those interested in going down a fun rabbit hole of whodunnit theatrics should be well-served, even if you may find yourself nostalgic for the oddball intrigue of, say, Carrie Coon worshipping a giant boulder in season two.” [Alex McLevy]
Just Beyond (Disney+, 3:01 a.m.): Inspired by author R.L. Stine’s work and created by Seth Grahame-Smith, this eight-episode anthology tells thought-provoking stories of a world beyond imagination. Each episode features new characters who go on a surprising journey of self-discovery that may or may not include witches, ghosts, aliens, and parallel universes. The show stars McKenna Grace, Nasim Pedrad, Riki Lindhome, Tim Heideker, Gabriel Bateman, Henry Thomas, and Parvesh Cheena.
12 Comments
I usually say the Legends are hottest in their 60s/70s hippie getups, but I’m not sure we’re prepared for Prohibition/Flapper-styled Legends.
I’m curious who they’re gonna pick to review them now that Allison’s gone.I know who I hope they DON’T pick.
EDIT: Kinda helps to read the article, Snark. Oh, well.
So we’re not even covering the season premiere of Batwoman? Hoping this season can be better, as we move more towards a Bat-focus.
I’m so torn on whether to watch the new season of The Sinner. The third season was dreadful and dull, despite having landed Chris Messina and Matt Bomer for supporting roles. Maybe it’s just that I find the character of Harry Ambrose exhausting at this point. He’s like the detective version of House without any of the charm and with the self-loathing turned up to 11.
I couldn’t finish season three. Too much Harry Ambrose, not enough weirdos.
I finished it, but man was it a slog. Sooooo much bro philosophizing. It was all so boring. If I had to listen to one more character lecture about the nature of being and what it means to be alive, I was going to scream.
“Sooooo much bro philosophizing”
Yes! It was like the most tiresome people from undergrad only they somehow managed to get worse with age.
Ha! I think my sister and I actually had some version of that exact conversation while season 3 was on. It was like willingly subjecting yourself for an hour each week to every tool from your college intro philosophy. I suppose it doesn’t help that I find philosophy incredibly tedious to begin with, but The Sinner did very little to make it more bearable for a lay audience.
3 was definitely dreadful, but I find the description of this season as more of a straightforward mystery a bit of a relief. If there’s a thing to solve, then clues, Harry squinting along… maybe less room bit “you’re all just like me, a serial killer, deep down” pontificating?
I was so psyched to realize the new season started tonight that I actually paid $2.99 to watch last season’s finale to refresh my memory since my new place’s cable doesn’t seem to have access to the CW app. Stupid Comcast.
I’d be far more inclined to watch Dopesick if they gave it an “Inglorious Basterds” makeover and it ended with every member of the Sackler family going away to some fabulous private island to celebrate buying their way out of any liability while keeping billions of dollars, but encountering dozens of family members and loved ones of dead oxycontin users who beat them to death over several days. I’m tired of wallowing in the dark unpleasantness of the last several years, I am ready to rewrite some history!
10/10, would watch and subscribe to your newsletter.