Netflix releases first 3 minutes of opioid crisis drama Painkiller
The series stars Matthew Broderick, Uzo Aduba and Taylor Kitsch, among others.
Netflix drama Painkiller, which arrives on the streamer on Thursday 10th August, looks at how the US opioid epidemic first took hold and its far-reaching, devastating consequences.
The six-parter, which is based on Barry Meier's book of the same name and Patrick Radden Keefe's New Yorker article The Family That Built an Empire of Pain, is described as a "fictionalised retelling of events" that spotlights the "perpetrators, victims and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin".
Now we have our first look at the intriguing new series.
Speaking to Netflix's Tudum, executive producer Eric Newman (Narcos) 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.
"It's the political machine. It's the pharmaceutical industrial complex. You can't understand the epidemic unless you look at all of the participants: The people who did it, the people who let it happen, the people who suffered from it — and the people who blew the whistle on it."
Ahead of Painkiller's release, Netflix has released the opening three minutes, in which Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, No Hard Feelings) as pharmaceutical billionaire Richard Sackler is attempting to turn off a smoke alarm that won't stop beeping.
"[His company] has developed kind of a great drug, a miracle for a lot of people giving their lives back," Broderick previously told Netflix.
"He feels that he's helping an enormous amount of people. It's the only thing we have to get through pain, and I think Richard fully believes that."
But "there's a very bad side to it", he added.
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Other cast members include Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black, In Treatment), Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights, The Terminal List), Dina Shihabi (Archive 81, Altered Carbon), West Duchovny (Saint X) and John Rothman (One Mississippi).
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Painkiller will be released on Netflix on Thursday 10th August 2023. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
