Union County Brings Will Poulter and Noah Centineo to Rural Ohio’s Opioid Crisis—Oscilloscope Laboratories Acquires Sundance Hit for Summer/Fall 2026
Here’s a Sundance premiere that blends fiction and documentary to tell an essential American story: Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to Union County, the debut feature from writer-director Adam Meeks, adapted from his 2020 short film of the same name. The film stars Will Poulter (Warfare, The Bear) and Noah Centineo (Warfare, Street Fighter) as brothers working toward sobriety in a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program in rural Ohio. Set within an existing rehabilitation program and featuring a cast predominantly made up of non-professional actors sharing their real-life experiences, pain, and hope, the film premiered to widespread acclaim at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Oscilloscope Laboratories will release Union County theatrically in summer/fall 2026.
The Approach
Union County takes an unconventional path to depicting the opioid epidemic’s human cost.
Ohio-born filmmaker Adam Meeks blends fiction and documentary for what Oscilloscope describes as “an honest, compassionate portrait of a battle being fought all over America and the solidarity that flowers on its front lines.” The hybrid approach embeds professional actors within a real rehabilitation program, surrounding them with non-professional performers sharing actual experiences.
The result apparently achieves something pure documentary or pure fiction might not. The fictional framework, brothers Cody (Poulter) and Jack (Centineo) Parsons wrestling with internal struggles while working toward sobriety, provides narrative structure. The real participants provide authenticity that performance alone can’t replicate.
Annette Deao, a professional counselor in the real-life program, delivers a performance that resonated deeply with Sundance audiences, her actual expertise informing her portrayal of the tireless counselor supporting the Parsons brothers and their community.
The Setting
Rural Ohio hit hard by the nationwide opioid epidemic provides the location and context.
The court-mandated drug rehabilitation program offers help to those hoping to overcome addiction, the institutional framework that structures both the characters’ journeys and the film’s setting. The community of fellow locals in recovery creates the ensemble that surrounds the central brothers.
The specificity matters. This isn’t abstract addiction drama but particular place, particular program, particular people. The non-professional cast members sharing real-life experiences ground the fiction in documentary reality that can’t be fabricated.
Will Poulter’s Integration
Poulter’s performance apparently achieves seamless integration with the non-professional cast.
Oscilloscope’s SVP of Acquisitions Aaron Katz highlights “a phenomenal, seamlessly integrated performance from Will Poulter,” the challenge of a recognizable actor disappearing into documentary-adjacent material rather than pulling focus from it.
Poulter’s recent work spans The Bear‘s acclaimed ensemble and Warfare, the latter of which also starred alongside Noah Centineo. His facility with intense dramatic material and ensemble dynamics presumably serves a film where star ego would undermine the approach.
The Centineo Reunion
Centineo’s appearance as Poulter’s brother Jack marks their second collaboration following Warfare.
The casting suggests creative relationship that serves the fraternal dynamic the film requires. Brothers navigating recovery together need the chemistry that established working relationships provide. Whatever Warfare built between them apparently carries into the different context Union County presents.
Centineo also serves as executive producer, indicating investment beyond performance.
The Filmmaker’s Vision
Adam Meeks makes his feature debut with Union County, expanding his 2020 short film of the same name.
“Working with Oscilloscope on Union County is an affirmation of the film we made, which aspires to be in conversation with so many of the great independent films they’ve distributed over the years,” Meeks noted. “We’re so proud to partner with them to bring this film about community and human connection to cinemas and audiences across the country.”
The Oscilloscope catalog, spanning documentaries and fiction with artistic ambition, provides context for what Meeks aimed to achieve. The distributor’s track record with hybrid forms and unconventional approaches suits material that blends modes rather than choosing one.
The Oscilloscope Perspective
Katz positions Union County as rare achievement in recovery portrayal.
“It’s rare to see recovery portrayed with this level of honesty,” he observes. “Adam delivers a grounded, deeply emotional, and unsensationalized look at a community confronting a crisis that feels all too familiar today, while still leaving room for hope.”
The emphasis on “unsensationalized” acknowledges how addiction narratives often exploit their subjects. The balance of honesty with hope, crisis portrayal with room for optimism, apparently distinguishes Union County from grimmer approaches to similar material.
“The film is both moving and uplifting, and we’re excited to bring it to audiences,” Katz concludes.
The Production Team
The producers include Brad Becker-Parton, Martha Gregory, Stephanie Roush, Faye Tsakas, Sean Weiner, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Ellyn Daniels, Will O’Connor, and Will Poulter. Executive producers are Noah Centineo, Anita Gou, Caroline Clark, Luca Intili, Lauren Shelton, David Darby, Christine D’Souza, Julia Nelson, and Greg Nobile.
Union County is a Ley Line Entertainment and Burn These Words presentation, a Seaview and Arkhum production in association with Kindred Spirit and Wait A While Films.
The Ensemble
Beyond Poulter, Centineo, and Deao, the cast includes Elise Kibler (The Night Agent, American Classic), Emily Meade (The Deuce, Nerve), and Danny Wolohan (White Noise). The professional actors integrate with the non-professional participants whose real experiences inform the film’s documentary dimension.
Who Should Watch This Fall
If the opioid epidemic’s human cost concerns you: Union County apparently provides honest, compassionate portrayal rather than sensationalized exploitation.
If hybrid documentary-fiction approaches interest you: The blending of professional actors with real program participants creates something neither pure mode achieves alone.
If Will Poulter’s dramatic work impresses you: His seamless integration with non-professional cast demonstrates range that prestige television has recently showcased.
If Sundance acclaim signals quality to you: The widespread positive reception at the festival validates the approach and execution.
If recovery stories with hope appeal: The film apparently balances crisis acknowledgment with optimism about community and solidarity.
Summer/Fall 2026 Brings It Home
Union County releases theatrically in summer/fall 2026 from Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Two brothers working toward sobriety. A rural Ohio community hit hard by opioid crisis. A court-mandated program offering help. Non-professional actors sharing real experiences. Fiction and documentary blended into honest, compassionate portrait.
Will Poulter and Noah Centineo. Adam Meeks’s debut feature. The solidarity that flowers on the front lines of a battle being fought all over America.
Sundance acclaimed it. Oscilloscope acquired it. Summer/fall brings it to audiences across the country.
