Michael Keaton's character in the new Hulu series "Dopesick" is based in part on the life story of Nashville addiction specialist— and formeropioid abuser— Dr. Stephen Loyd.
Keaton playsDr. Samuel Finnix, the caring physician in a small Appalachian mining town — a physician who gets addicted to the pain pills he starts prescribing. "Dopesick"is a fictionalized version of reporter Beth Macy's book of the same name about the country's opioidcrisis and the irresponsible marketing ofPurduePharma's addictive painkiller OxyContin.
Loyd, the former Tennessee opioid epidemic czar, himself once abused pain pills, taking as many as 100 a day.
Loyd, a 54-year-old Knoxville areanative, got connected with "Dopesick" producers through Robert Pack, a nationally renowned pain pills expert and an associate dean for East Tennessee State University, Loyd's medical school alma mater.
Pack is a source for the book "Dopesick,"and author Macy also is a writer for the TV series.
"He kept saying: You have to interview Dr. Steve! He was right," Macy said in an email to The Tennessean.
"It’s [Loyd's] passion and his knowledge both — he’s so very well read about addiction — and then you layer his personal experience on top of it, and he’s got it all."
Loyd spent several hours on Zoom calls with the TV series' writers one day, and Macy sent Loyd follow up questions after that.
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"We are grateful to him for serving as a direct inspiration," Macy said.
"The Keaton character is a composite of several doctors we personally know about, but Dr. Steve is the one who helped us most directly in the room and afterwards."
Loyd now serves as medical directorfor Cedar Recovery addiction treatment centers in Middle Tennessee, which mostly serves the uninsured or those on public insurance like TENNCare or Medicaid.
Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com or 615-259-8384 or on Twitter @bradschmittl
