Director Stephen Frears had the idea to make a film about Lance Armstrong after reading a review of Tyler Hamilton's book, The Secret Race.[7] Unable to acquire the rights for Hamilton's book, he settled on Walsh's Seven Deadly Sins instead.[8] Frears turned to screenwriter John Hodge to write the script, partly because of Hodge's experience as a doctor.[9]
Hodge has said that he based his screenplay primarily on Seven Deadly Sins, in addition to other journalism and affidavits from cyclists. Hodge says that he ruled out using Armstrong's own accounts of his behavior during this period, and that scenes shown from Armstrong's perspective are fiction.[10]
The Program grossed $3.3 million worldwide.[2] It was released for U.S. rentals on DirecTV 19 February 2016,[16] with a cinema release 18 March 2016.[17][18]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 62%, based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus reads, "Ben Foster's impressive efforts to channel Lance Armstrong are often enough to power The Program past director Stephen Frears' frustrating unwillingness to delve deeper into its real-life story."[19] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]