Next month, Netflix is diving into America’s opioid crisis with its upcoming series Painkiller. The series it set to premiere on August 10 and will be a fictionalized version of very real events. It is a limited series that clocks in at six episodes that are one hour each. Ahead of the show’s release in August, Netflix released the official trailer.
Painkiller is a scripted series that focuses on the beginnings and aftermath of the opioid crisis in the U.S. with a specific focus on OxyContin and how “perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers” lives were changed. It takes a look at how opioids became so present in hundreds of thousands of American lives, breaking down systems of power, the role of crime, and accountability. The series is adapted from Barry Meier‘s book Pain Killer and the New York Magazine article “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” by Patrick Radden Keefe.
The trailer begins with Uzo Aduba as Edie Flowers, a lawyer at the U.S. Attorney’s office working to persecute Purdue Pharma following its production and release and OxyContin. It’s evident she is determined to put a stop to the company and its founder Arthur Sackler (Matthew Broderick). Soon enough, viewers see how the drug went from creating undeniable pain to somehow becoming a celebrated narcotic, with crowds chanting its name as Purdue seems to have hit the sweet spot “between pain and pleasure.” Despite the pain relief it offers, the trailer then begins to unravel just how harmful it is, with Edie continuing to drive the point home that it’s fatal and destroying relationships — all while Purdue benefits. Moreover, it also seems Painkiller will blend its fictional story elements with a documentary lens, with shots throughout that create a more realistic feeling to the series.
Painkiller is created, showrun, written, and executive produced by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, both of whom previously served as executive producers for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Sword Art Online: Last Recollection. They executive produce alongside Keefe, Eric Newman, director Pete Berg, and Alex Gibney. Meier serves as consulting producer. Additional cast includes Dina Shihabi, West Duchovny, John Rothman, Clark Gregg, Jack Mulhern, Sam Anderson, Ana Cruz Kayne, Brian Markinson, Noah Harpster, John Ales, Johnny Sneed, Tyler Ritter, and Carolina Bartczak.
Pete Berg Wanted to Focus on the Origins of the Opioid Crisis
During an interview with Netflix, Berg revealed why he wanted to hone in on the specifics: who was behind the opioid crisis and how it became so prevalent. Berg said that he felt the introduction of OxyContin into the mainstream was a missing piece of the much larger conversation. He wanted to dive into that for Painkiller.
“Everyone knows that the opioid crisis is bad. But this is the origin story of the collision between medicine and money that allowed it to happen. One of the many things that I thought was missing [from the conversation about OxyContin] was the introduction of the drug into mainstream medicine. How Arthur Sackler, this psychiatrist from New York who specialized in lobotomies, started to realize that the future was in pills — specifically in advertising pills. Whoever could market their drug better was going to make the most money.”
Painkiller debuts on Thursday, August 10 on Netflix. Watch the trailer below:
via Collider