SHOWTIME(R) OFFERS EVERY EPISODE OF ITS OPIOID EPIDEMIC DOCUMENTARY SERIES "THE TRADE" FOR FREE TO NON-SUBSCRIBERS

Executive Produced And Directed By Oscar(R) Nominee Matthew Heineman, Finale Airs Tonight At 9 PM ET/PT On SHOWTIME

NEW YORK - March 2, 2018 - For the first time in network history, SHOWTIME is offering a full series for free to non-subscribers. All episodes of its powerful five-part documentary series THE TRADE, which explores the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic on both sides of the border, are available now for free. The full season of THE TRADE is available on YouTube, SHO.com and the SHOWTIME stand-alone service's website Showtime.com, as well as across multiple TV and streaming providers' websites, apps and free On Demand channels. THE TRADE, which concludes its on-air run tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT, is executive produced and directed by Oscar nominee and Emmy(R) winner Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land).

"THE TRADE deals with one of the most harrowing epidemics our country has ever seen," said Vinnie Malhotra, Senior Vice President, Documentaries, Unscripted and Sports Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. "By making this documentary available to the widest possible audience, we're opening eyes, minds and hearts to the situation going on in our backyards. Matthew Heineman's revelatory and timely series outlines the complicated and human layers of the opioid crisis, and we feel it's our responsibility to share his findings beyond SHOWTIME subscribers, in the hopes of educating and inviting real change."

To watch a roundtable conversation on the making of THE TRADE featuring the docu-series' producers, go to: https://youtu.be/JSRjWaI6bN0.

The character-driven verité-style series THE TRADE, which had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, seeks to break through the simplistic and often erroneously counterproductive assumptions surrounding the opioid epidemic by 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(R) 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.

SHOWTIME subscribers can watch the entire series now on streaming, authenticated and on-demand platforms including SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and SHOWTIME ANYTIME(R).