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As you tune in to some of this spring’s most anticipated new shows, you may feel a sense of déjà vu: Haven’t I already seen or read or heard about this story before? That’s because a surprising number of this season’s dramas are based on real events and real people, including New York City con artist Anna Delvey, disgraced biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes and big-cat enthusiasts Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. They join a growing number of recently premiered docudramas, such as Dopesick and Dr. Death, that derive their plots from podcasts, nonfiction books and magazine articles. Taken together, they prove one thing: Truth is truly stranger than fiction.
Check out these 10 juicy, ripped-from-the-headlines dramas streaming this season, and see if you don’t agree!
Dr. Death (out now)
The premise: If you happen to harbor a fear of doctors, maybe think twice before watching this true-crime drama about Christopher Duntsch, a psychopathic neurosurgeon who left his patients maimed, disfigured or dead. Sweet-faced former teen heartthrob Joshua Jackson (Pacey on Dawson's Creek) plays against type as the killer, with Alec Baldwin, 63, and Christian Slater, 52, teaming up as the doctors who helped uncover his crimes.
Based on: The first season of Wondery’s Dr. Death podcast, hosted by Laura Beil
Watch it: Dr. Death on Peacock
The Shrink Next Door (out now)
The premise: OK, maybe it’s not as shocking as Pacey-as-a-killer-doc, but Paul Rudd, 52, also gets the chance to show off a more sinister side in this dark dramedy. He stars as slick psychiatrist Ike Herschkopf, who manipulates his schlubby client Marty Markowitz (Will Ferrell, 54) and begins to take over every aspect of his life — from his family to his finances to his house in the Hamptons — over the span of 27 years. The always terrific Kathryn Hahn costars as Marty’s sister, alongside SNL alum Casey Wilson as Ike’s wife.
Based on: The Wondery podcast The Shrink Next Door, hosted by Joe Nocera
Watch it: The Shrink Next Door on Apple TV+
Don’t miss this: The Best Thrillers Playing on Netflix Right Now
Dopesick (out now)
The premise: Created by Danny Strong, the executive producer behind Empire, this Hulu series takes a 360-degree view of America’s opioid crisis, from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma to an Appalachian mining town where OxyContin abuse runs rampant. The interweaving stories follow characters both real and fictional, including Purdue executive Richard Sackler (Michael Stuhlbarg, 53), a small-town doctor (Michael Keaton, 70), a DEA agent (Rosario Dawson), a U.S. attorney (Peter Sarsgaard, 50) and a young Virginia coal miner who turns to painkillers after an injury (Kaitlyn Dever).
Based on: The 2018 book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, by Beth Macy
Watch it: Dopesick on Hulu
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