''Hamilton's Pharmacopeia'' is an American

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

, which premiered on

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

on October 26, 2016. The show follows Hamilton Morris as he explores the history, chemistry and social impact of psychoactive substances. It chronicles Morris' travels and first-hand experiences, as well as interviews with scientists,

shamans Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

and fringe culture figures.

Background

''Hamilton's Pharmacopeia'' is a documentary series created, written, and directed by Hamilton Morris. It has been produced in various forms since 2009. ''Hamilton's Pharmacopeia'' began as a monthly column about psychoactive drugs written by Morris for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'' magazine. When given the opportunity to film short documentaries to accompany his written pieces, Morris began to produce ''Hamilton's Pharmacopeia'' as an online documentary series starting with the release of ''The Sapo Diaries'' that same year. Initially the series was only available on

VBS.TV VBS.tv was an online television network owned by ''Vice Media'', and later absorbed into VICE.com. The network produced original, short-form, documentary-style video content under the auspice of VICE Films. Subject matter included humanitarian ...

, but after its release on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

the series began to gain a wider international following. From 2009 to 2017, Morris produced ten ''Pharmacopeia'' documentaries before the show began its first season on the cable television channel

(now Vice TV). From 2016 to 2020, Morris directed twenty episodes of ''Hamilton's Pharmacopeia'' for Viceland. After delays caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the third season was released on January 4, 2021.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017–18)

Season 3 (2021)

Reception

The show has received widespread critical acclaim for its alternative and unusually honest approach to the portrayal of recreational drug use. Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Tim Jonze drew comparisons between Morris' obsessive dedication to his subject and similar qualities in his father. Praising his demeanor on the show, Jonze writes: "Morris is a good presence on screen – dressed all in white, he has a sort of charming awkwardness not dissimilar to

Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduating fro ...

(they share the same disarming smile) and he allows his subjects plenty of space to tell their stories." In another review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Ross Simonini praised the show's unique tone: "Mr. Morris has a grinning, laid-back persona, with an approach not dissimilar to Hunter S. Thompson’s gonzo journalism. In person Mr. Morris, son of the filmmaker Errol Morris, is bookish and intense, speaking with a fastidious attention to word choice."

Hermione Hoby Hermione Hoby is a British author, journalist, and cultural critic. She is the author of the 2018 novel ''Neon in Daylight''. Early and personal life Hoby was born and raised in South London. She is named for the character Hermione from Shakespe ...

made similar remarks, writing that Hamilton Morris proceeds with "a mix of gonzo abandon and scholarly rigour".

References

Drug culture Viceland original programming {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub