''Painkiller'' is an American drama

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

made for Netflix and created by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and

Noah Harpster Noah Harpster is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his role of Remy on Tig Notaro's '' One Mississippi'', and writing, producing and acting on ''Transparent'', for which he won a Peabody Award, and was nomina ...

. The six-episode series, which is based on Patrick Radden Keefe's '' New Yorker'' article "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain" and ''Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic'' by Barry Meier, focuses on the birth of the opioid crisis, with an emphasis on Purdue Pharma, a company owned by Richard Sackler and his family that was the manufacturer of OxyContin. The Sackler family have been described as the "most evil family in America", and "the worst drug dealers in history". ''Painkiller'' premiered on Netflix on August 10, 2023.

Cast and characters

* Uzo Aduba as Edie Flowers * Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler * Sam Anderson as

Raymond Sackler Raymond Sackler (February 16, 1920 – July 17, 2017) was an American physician and businessman. He acquired Purdue Pharma together with his brothers Arthur M. Sackler and Mortimer Sackler. Purdue Pharma is the developer of OxyContin, the dru ...

* Clark Gregg as Arthur Sackler * Taylor Kitsch as Glen Kryger * Carolina Bartczak as Lily Kryger *

Tyler Ritter Tyler David Thomas Ritter (born January 31, 1985) is an American actor who starred as Ronny McCarthy of ''The McCarthys''. Early life Ritter is the son of actor John Ritter and brother of actor Jason Ritter. His grandfather was country singer Te ...

John L. Brownlee John Leslie Brownlee (born January 31, 1965) (payment required) is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2001 to 2008. He has since worked as the chair of the National White Collar ...

* John Ales as Gregory Fitzgibbons * Ron Lea as Bill Havens * Ana Cruz Kayne as Brianna Ortiz *

West Duchovny Madelaine West Duchovny (born April 24, 1999), known professionally as West Duchovny, is an American actress. She is best known for ''A Mouthful of Air (film), A Mouthful of Air'', ''The Magicians (American TV series), The Magicians'' and ''Paink ...

as Shannon Schaeffer * Jack Mulhern as Tyler Kryger * Dina Shihabi as Britt * John Rothman as Mortimer Sackler * John Murphy as Michael Friedman *

as Curtis Wright

Episodes

Production

Production began in Toronto in April 2021 and wrapped in November 2021. The series was directed by Peter Berg.

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 36 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Painkiller'' honors the victims of the opioid crisis with effective dramatic beats but is undermined by its stale satirical flourishes, resulting in a tonally confused bit of muckraking." On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Writing for

American Council on Science and Health The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is a pro-industry advocacy organization founded in 1978 by Elizabeth Whelan. ACSH's publications focus on advocacy related to food, nutrition, health, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biology, biot ...

, a pro-industry group, Cameron English criticized the series, alleging that it unfairly pins the blame for the opioid crisis on Purdue and the Sackler family.

References

External links