• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 15, 2015

The Huffington Post Highlineis boosting its commitment to serious, in-depth reporting through a partnership with veteran legal journalist Steven Brill, the online publisher announced this week.

HuffPo and Brill are collaborating on a new, long-form documentary series investigating unethical and illegal practices by the pharmaceutical industry, called “America’s Most Admired Law Breaker.”

The 15-part “DocuSerial” will specifically focus on the story of Johnson & Johnson’s off-label marketing of an anti-psychotic drug, Risperdal, for use by children and the elderly for other ailments, in violation of FDA restrictions. The drug was heavily marketed despite indications it had dangerous side effects, including strokes and the growth of breasts in young boys.

A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the case, and the company agreed to a $2 billion settlement.

In addition to interviews with key players, the series will examine documents and litigation records to reveal deceptive practices by the company, which paid doctors to promote the drug. Ultimately, many of the charges leveled in the series concern current Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, who served as president of the Risperdal unit at the time.

The series will be published as 15 podcast chapters posted over 15 days, along with a daily podcast. HuffPo will also publish a text version with links to the documents cited by Brill, including internal emails, FDA documents, depositions and trial transcripts.

Among his other projects, in 2013, Brill authored a 26,000-word cover story investigating rising healthcare costs for Time magazine titled “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.”