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Netflix recently announced a limited series titled Painkiller, which is set to focus on the real-life opioid crisis in America. Starring Matthew Broderick and Uzo Aduba in the leading roles, this show will follow a fictionalized retelling of events that led to one of the worst crises that America has seen in recent years.
The streaming platform dropped a trailer for the upcoming release and gave a glimpse at the complicated criminal world that led to this huge crisis. The synopsis reads:
"Explores some of the origins and aftermath of the opioid crisis in America, highlighting the stories of the perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin. [It is an] examination of crime, accountability, and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans."
Painkiller is set to feature six episodes and will premiere on Netflix on August 10, 2023.
Painkiller trailer: Pain, pleasure, and greed
The trailer for Painkiller offers a glimpse at the rise of OxyContin, a legally prescribable drug that is widely believed to have led to the opioid crisis in America. It showcases the profit-makers in the process, the drug's dominance in the American market, and the people who try to stop it.
The trailer also highlights the realistic approach of the creators of the series, as well as some beautiful cinematography and sound work.
Painkiller is based on the book of the same name by Barry Meier and the New Yorker Magazine article The Family That Built the Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. However, instead of depicting the real events, it will retell the story in a fictionalized manner.
Director Peter Berg spoke about the series at Netflix's Tudum, revealing some crucial details. He said:
"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."
He added:
"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...We wanted to make sure people knew upfront that there might be some farcical moments in this show, but that we don't think there's anything remotely funny about the Sackler family, Purdue and the opioid crisis."
Executive producer Eric Newman stressed the importance of this limited series, saying:
"We wanted to mirror the effects of opioids: the warmth and the hope and the relief of taking a pill that’s going to deliver you from your suffering and then watching it become suffering."
Apart from the two leads, Painkiller features a star-studded cast comprising big names like Taylor Kitsch, Dina Shihabi, West Duchovny, and John Rothman. It also guest stars Clark Gregg, Jack Mulhern, Sam Anderson, Ana Cruz Kayne, Brian Markinson, Noah Harpster, John Ales, Johnny Sneed, Tyler Ritter, and Carolina Bartczak, among others.
Painkiller will premiere on Netflix on August 10, 2023.
