Painkiller is a limited series drama by American creators Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, set to premiere on Netflix in 2022. The play is inspired by the New Yorker story “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” by Patrick Radden Keefe and Barry Meier’s Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic.
Peter Berg directed all eight episodes of the series. In April 2021, filming began in Toronto and was completed by the end of the year. When exactly will the next season premiere? What happens? Who do you envision playing the lead roles? Read on for more information.
Painkiller Release Date
On Thursday, August 10, 2023, all six of the show’s hourlong episodes will air for the first time. Typically, Netflix releases new shows at 3 a.m. ET, or 12 a.m. PT. This new series is produced by Netflix and can only be viewed by paying subscribers.
Painkiller Plot
The new Netflix series Painkiller investigates the roots of the opioid problem in America by focusing on the questionable actions of Purdue Pharma, the firm that created OxyContin, and especially on Richard Sackler (played by Matthew Broderick), the business’s founder. The Sacklers and others involved in the drug’s development and distribution will have their stories told on the show, along with those who are trying to bring them down, like Uzo Aduba’s character Edie, and those who have been negatively affected by the drug, like Taylor Kitsch’s character Glen, a mechanic who suffers a debilitating injury to his back at work.
In addition to chronicling the lives of those who became dependent on opioids after being assured by their doctors that it was safe to do so, Painkiller also follows the stories of a few medical sales representatives or the people Purdue paid well to get physicians to prescribe more of their (very addictive) medicine.
Painkiller Cast
The principal actors who portray these roles in Painkillers are as follows:
- Uzo Aduba as Edie
- Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler
- Sam Anderson as Raymond Sackler
- John Rothman as Mortimer Sackler
- Taylor Kitsch as Glen Kryger
- West Duchovny as Shannon Schaeffer
- Dina Shihabi as Britt Hufford
- Carolina Bartczak as Lily Kryger
- Tyler Ritter as John Brownlee
- John Ales as Dr. Gregory Fitzgibbons
- Ron Lea as Bill Havens
- Ana Cruz Kayne as Brianna Ortiz
- Jack Mulhern as Tyler Kryger
Painkiller Trailer
On July 11, the first official trailer for “Painkiller” was released. From OxyContin’s inception to its devastating effects on regular people, the series covers it all in dramatic detail. First, Edie introduces herself as an investigator for the United States Attorney’s Office who is committed to upholding the law. “You lie, you hurt people,” she says, “you go down.” Of course, the reality is more nuanced than that. In what is going to be one of the most iconic lines of the series, Richard Sackler shortly summarizes the drug’s terrible appeal: “All of human behavior is essentially comprised of two things: Run from pain, run toward pleasure…” There will be no more financial stress if we just put ourselves in that sweet spot between discomfort and enjoyment. The family and their medicines will skyrocket after this news breaks.
Painkiller Crew
Painkiller is directed by Peter Berg, who previously worked on The Leftovers and Friday Night Lights. The series is being run and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. Keefe, who wrote “The Family That Built the Empire of Pain,” as well as Berg, who directed the series, Newman, and Gibney serve as executive producers. Consulting producer Meier is also the author of Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic. There was Gibney’s The Crime of the Century (2021), a documentary about the opioid crisis in the United States, which came out before Painkiller. Gibney’s time spent working on the film proved extremely useful to the current series.
Painkiller Locations
Beginning in April of 2021, filming for the upcoming Netflix limited drama series Painkiller took place in Toronto, Ontario, and concluded that year in November.
Where to watch Painkiller?
Painkiller, a limited drama series, is not yet accessible on any streaming services. The brand-new American series will initially only be available on the Netflix streaming platform.