Watch Lance Armstrong's Downfall in 'The Program' Trailer

Lance Armstrong used to be an international hero — and now, in this trailer for The Program above, he’s a pretty compelling villain. The new drama documents the rise and fall of the champion cyclist (Ben Foster) through the eyes of Irish sports writer Dave Walsh (Chris O’Dowd). At first, Walsh is captivated by the story of the athlete who “recovered from cancer and turned into bloody Superman,” winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005. But his investigations soon lead him to the truth: There is more pumping through Armstrong’s veins than “the will to survive.” Convincing the rest of the world is another matter.

The Program (which refers to the regimen of performance-enhancing drugs used by Armstrong and his teammates) is directed by Stephen Frears, who has a solid track record of turning true stories into unconventional biopics (The Queen, Philomena). In reality, Walsh was the first journalist to expose Armstrong’s doping lie in a 2001 newspaper article — but it was over a decade later, after being stripped of his titles, that Armstrong himself finally confessed. The film, which appears to take an All the Presidents Men-style approach to its story, is based on Walsh’s 2012 book Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong. While the scandal has inspired two recent documentaries, Stop at Nothing and The Armstrong Lie, Frears is the first director to dramatize Armstrong’s fall from grace.

The Program opens internationally this fall. A U.S. release date has yet to be announced.