Zach Braff plays real-life Maryland officer in Tribeca premiere Clean Hands

Vertical has bought North American rights to Clean Hands, a drama starring Zach Braff as a real-life Maryland narcotics officer trying to save his daughter from addiction, Deadline reported on 9 June 2026. The deal covers the United States and Canada, the territory the business calls domestic, and followed the film's world premiere at the Tribeca Festival.

The film was written, produced and directed by Jake Allyn, according to Variety. It centres on Kevin Simmers of Hagerstown, Maryland, and his efforts to pull his daughter Brooke out of drug abuse.

Braff plays Simmers. Esther McGregor plays Brooke, his 19-year-old daughter, whose opioid addiction deepens as the story unfolds, an account detailed by Variety and outlined by Tribeca ahead of the premiere, Tribeca reported.

Abigail Spencer plays Dana, Simmers's wife, while Kraig Dane plays a dealer known as Brick and Lucas Till plays an ambitious deputy, Variety noted. Holt McCallany also stars, as confirmed when the Vertical deal was announced, Deadline reported. Spencer had wrapped her work on the film opposite Braff and McGregor the previous summer.

The story is based on the life of a drug officer turned recovery advocate, Deadline reported. Sellers described the project as an exploration of America's war on drugs when the North American deal was announced.

Its closing credits point viewers to Brooke's House, a rehabilitation facility Simmers created in response to his daughter's addiction, according to Variety.

Clean Hands was listed in Tribeca's 2026 feature line-up with Braff attached, Variety reported in April. It then held its world premiere at the festival in June, which Tribeca announced on video.

For viewers coming to it fresh, the set-up is simple. A father who arrests dealers by day goes home to a family crisis he cannot arrest his way out of.