20/20 Focuses on Kristen Johnston's Guts

Addiction will be highlighted on tonight's episode of 20-20, which focuses on Emmy award-winning actress, recovery advocate and Fix contributor Kristen Johnston. "Initially, they approached me to do a brief segment at the end of the show, which was at that time called 'Wasted,'" Johnston tells The Fix. "However, after the producer and Elizabeth Vargas read [her addiction memoir] Guts, they decided it should be a much more prominent part of the show. Because of this, I asked them to kindly consider changing the title because 'Wasted' isn't really appropriate. So they changed it to 'Intoxication Nation,' which I thought much better. It's really a show about the state of addiction and recovery in America today." Johnston, whose interview is being described as "revealing and often hilarious," confesses during the special, "I thought [drinking] was cool… you know, I could outdrink the basketball team." The show will also feature our columnist Nic Sheff—producers reached out to him after reading his piece on working at a high-end rehab in The Fix. "The producers really tried to get all angles of the issue," says Johnston. Tune into 20/20: Intoxication Nation tonight at 7 pm PST/10 pm EST.