Netflix’s new miniseries Painkiller puts the US opioid epidemic in the spotlight, focusing on the pain and mayhem this powerful drug has brought to many families in the country. But as this really happens in real life, there are now questions if the six-part TV series is based on a true story. Of course, the streamer has already made things clear to avoid confusion.
Painkiller tells the story of the Sackler family and their pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, which produces OxyContin. This drug is considered twice as powerful as morphine and has been blamed for igniting the opioid epidemic in the US. Executive-produced by Eric Newman and Pete Berg, who also directed the series, the show is led by Matthew Broderick as the family patriarch Richard Sackler. So, is the show real or not?
According to Netflix, Painkiller is fictionalized retelling of events that are based on extensive research, meaning it’s a work of fiction. The show is based on two written sources: the 2003 book Pain Killer by Barry Meier, which had an updated edition in 2018, and the 2017 New Yorker article, The Family that Built an Empire of Pain, by Patrick Radden Keefe. The latter article became the bestselling book of 2021, titled Empire of Pain.
The Coming of the Opioid Crisis in the US
Newman, who is also behind Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, told Netflix that Meier already saw the coming of the opioid crisis as a The New York Times reporter. In fact, his book became a reading requirement to understand this epidemic more.
“Keefe’s article about the Sackler family, specifically about their role in the crisis, was a touchstone for us as well,” he said. “Having them as consultants and producers, along with the legendary Alex Gibney, has been invaluable — as was the work and the amazing reporting they had done.”
Alternatively, Noah Harpster, who created and wrote Painkiller with Micah Fitzerman-Blue, sees Keefe and Meier as the walking encyclopedias on the Sacklers and the opioid crisis in America. In addition, Newman considers the show as a medium to make everyone try to understand how this epidemic began so that they can all finally put an end to it.
So, how worse the opioid crisis in the US is? According to reports, over 40 individuals died in the US from prescription opioid overdose every day as of 2020.
What is Painkiller about?
Painkiller tries to answer the questions about how this opioid epidemic happened and who should be held responsible. Berg said everyone knows how bad the opioid crisis is, and the show tells the origin story of how money and medicine let it happen. You can read the series synopsis below:
The causes and consequences of America's opioid epidemic unfold in this drama following its perpetrators, victims and an investigator seeking the truth.
Netflix dropped Painkiller on August 10 and is now making noise. Sure, the show easily entertains the viewers with the drama, good acting, and everything it entails. But behind the success, a deeper story comes with it, showing how a legal drug is allowed to ruin thousands of lives.
