New Showtime Documentary Series THE TRADE To Premiere This Week

From Columbus, Ohio to Guerrero, Mexico and countless cities in between, the opioid epidemic has ravaged communities on both sides of the border. This Friday, February 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Showtime will debut THE TRADE, a timely new five-episode docu-series spotlighting the crisis through the eyes of those most affected: the growers, addicts, cartel bosses and law enforcement hopelessly caught in its web. THE TRADE is executive produced and directed by Oscar nominee and Emmy® winner Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land).

Following its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the character-driven verité-style THE TRADE seeks to break through the simplistic and often erroneously counterproductive assumptions surrounding the opioid phenomenon transcending the headlines to convey with humanity and nuance the scope and gravity of the crisis. It is a continuation of Heineman's searing examination of the border drug trade. His critically acclaimed 2015 documentary Cartel Land earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature and won three Emmy Awards, Best Documentary from the Director's Guild of America and the Courage Under Fire Award from the International Documentary Association, among others.

THE TRADE is a production of Heineman's Our Time Projects for SHOWTIME. Pagan Harleman also serves as executive producer and showrunner.