Wondery Preps ‘Dr. Death’ Podcast Spinoff ‘The Vaping Fix’

EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Death, the hit podcast that focuses on egregious cases of medical malpractice, is getting a spinoff.

The team behind the audio series, which is being turned into a TV show starring Joshua Jackson, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater, is launching The Vaping Fix.

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The six-part audio series, from Wondery, the podcast company behind series such as Dirty John that was acquired by Amazon last year, and journalist Laura Beil, will tell the inside story behind the rise of vaping and how Juul went from a Stanford student’s project to curb smoking habits to a multibillion-dollar company that may have hooked a new generation.

It will tell the tale of two young Silicon Valley entrepreneurs set out to rid the world of smoking with a new product. The device stands to disrupt the tobacco industry and make them rich, until it falls into the wrong hands and lives are ruined. From classrooms to hospitals, boardrooms to the Oval Office, what can be done to protect teenagers and is it too late?

The Vaping Fix will launch on May 18 with subscribers to Wondery+ getting access a week early.

It is written and reported by Laura Beil. Denise Chan is associate producer, fact checking by Jaclyn Colletti and additional production assistance from Daniel Gonzalez. Managing producer is Lata Pandya, music supervisor is Scott Velasquez, sound design by Jeff Schmidt and executive producers are George Lavender, Marshall Lewy, and Jen Sargent for Wondery.

The Vaping Fix comes as the Dr. Death TV adaptation is set to have its world premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.

The series, for Peacock, is based around the first season of Dr. Death, which tells the story of Christopher Duntsch, a Texas surgeon who was convicted of gross malpractice after thirty-one of his patients were left seriously injured after he operated on them, and two patients died during his operation.

Jackson is playing Duntsch in the series, which comes from Patrick Macmanus and UCP.

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