CLIFTON FORGE, Va. – A new series filmed right here in southwest Virginia dropped on Hulu Wednesday morning. The miniseries works to shed light on the opioid epidemic nationwide. Clifton forge sets the backdrop for the new Hulu’s series “Dopesick”.
“Clifton Forge is almost like a character in the movie,” Clifton Forge Mayor Pamela Marshall said.
The series dropped Wednesday and is based on the book written by former Roanoke Times reporter and author Beth Macy.
“We’re hoping that through the stories that we’re showing in the show that more Americans will come to understand how we got here, to a place where 96,000 people died in the past year of drug overdose,” Author Beth Macy said.
Scenes filmed in Virginia are shown throughout the series, whether it’s the Richmond state house or aerial shots of Clifton Forge.
Directors spend time earlier this year there filming, something local leaders say gives the town a much-needed boost at the height of the pandemic.
“It was a huge production it was like so many people in this town at one time, but we were able to accommodate and so many of our businesses benefited from their being here as well the food industry, that the state of the art schools,” Marshall said.
Macy played a pivotal role in keeping the filming in Virginia.
“If there was any benefit to come from the economic development benefit to come from the communities that Virginia deserve to get it,” Macy said.
The town hopes it will open the door for similar opportunities in the future.
“We were just happy for the opportunity to share Clifton Forge with the rest of the world,” Marshall said.
But Macy says it’s about more than just seeing her work on the big screen, she hopes by having these hard conversations about addiction, others will choose to get help.
“I’m hoping it raises more attention for people with opioid use disorder, as well as, you know, just the plight of rural communities in general too,” Macy said
Clifton Forge hopes the film will open the door for other opportunities down the line.