It was a kismet twist of fate that Netflix’s limited series Painkiller premiered in tandem with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reassess Purdue Pharma’s $6 billion bankruptcy deal.
The six-episode series premiered on August 10 and quickly jumped to No. 1 on the English TV List with more than 7.2 million views (35.9 million hours viewed), and it’s landed in the Top 10 in 72 countries.
Starring Matthew Broderick and Orange is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba, the story details the origins of the opioid crisis. It unravels the OxyContin epidemic and how this deadly drug overtook America in the 1990s. It all started with OxyContin and is now primarily Fentanyl, which kills roughly 100,000 people annually.
Peter Berg, who executive produced and directed all six episodes, believes the subject of opioid addiction cannot receive enough attention, and his reasons for that are very personal.
In a recent interview, Berg, well-known for creating and directing NBC’s Friday Night Lights, spoke about his passion for telling this story. He recalled hearing about the project from executive producer Eric Newman and consulting producer Barry Meier.
“I know a lot of people who have died from opioids. When Eric and Barry approached me, I started counting,” Berg said of that initial conversation. He added that he quickly ticked off each finger on both hands. “I know a lot of people, over a dozen.”
Berg is happy that the Supreme Court is reviewing Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy case. “The Sackler family has gotten away with it. They’ve done an extraordinary job of using lawyers, Rudy Giuliani included, to protect themselves. They lost their legacy, which was very important to them. Their name has been vilified, but they’ve artfully held onto their $15 billion nest egg. They’ve escaped real pain.”
In a separate interview, Newman, well-known for his work on Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, discussed why he wanted to make this series. “I spent many years chronicling the cocaine business in South America. I told the stories of several drug traffickers. I have my own unfortunate experience with opioid addiction,” he explained, clarifying that he didn’t struggle with addiction but lost someone he loved.
Berg and Newman are aware of comparisons between their take and Hulu’s Dopesick. Both say the spotlight on the opioid epidemic and the Sackler family, credited with starting the disaster in the mid-1990s with the creation of OxyContin, cannot shine bright enough.
While filming in Toronto, crew members regularly shared their personal stories with Berg. “Rarely a day went by when someone didn’t come up to me in quiet moments to ask if they could talk to me. They shared stories of family and friends battling addiction. It’s just so common now.”
Newman, who developed and produced the upcoming series Griselda about a real-life drug trafficker starring Sofía Vergara, explained the difference between drug traffickers and drug makers. “The biggest difference between these people who perpetrated what is truly a medical conspiracy and the drug traffickers favors the traffickers because the traffickers don’t pretend to be anything but what they are. They’re drug dealers.”
As for the Sackler family, Newman says the violation of trust was exponentially worse because they were doctors. “That betrayal of trust led to a healthcare crisis and a betrayal of public trust we’d never seen. We all felt a real obligation to get this story out there because you see where it starts, and it starts with a doctor saying, ‘This is good for you. Take this. You’re going to be fine.’ And then you’re not.”
Newman referenced a saying in the illegal drug trade: “The first one is free.” In this case, he said, the first one is legal and prescribed by a doctor. “Now we’re amid a wave of Fentanyl deaths directly related to the demand created in the late 1990s with OxyContin. I saw an obligation to tell this story as loudly as possible and reach as many people as possible.”
In Painkiller, Broderick portrays real-life billionaire businessman and physician Richard Sackler, the mind behind OxyContin. He was the chairman and president of Purdue Pharma, the company best known as the drug developer. Sackler has been accused of concealing the drug’s strength and hiding its risks.
The Sackler family founded and owned two pharmaceutical companies, Purdue Pharma and Mundipharma, and has faced many lawsuits and fines.
In 2019, Purdue filed for bankruptcy due to cases in several states. In the settlement now under review, the Sackler family agreed to pay $6 billion and forfeit company ownership.
The controversial agreement shielded Sackler family members by granting immunity from civil claims made by victims of OxyContin and is considered a misuse of the bankruptcy court.
Painkiller is based on the book “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic” by Barry Meier and The New Yorker Magazine article “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” by Patrick Radden Keefe.
Meier was a New York Times reporter when he got a tip about what was a new drug at the time. “I heard that this new, powerful painkiller called OxyContin was all over small towns in Appalachia, Florida, and Maine. I also heard that the sales reps for Purdue Pharma claimed that it was a miracle drug and that it was protected from abuse and addiction. I started reporting this and going to places where drug abuse was rampant and found myself at the beginning of this prescription drug disaster, the one we now call the opioid epidemic. It was so horrifying. It’s amazing that here we are more than 20 years later, and this epidemic continues.”
Meier credits Painkiller with bringing to light the many lies told to the public. “There were legions of medical zealots who thought they could change how pain was treated, and to do that, they distorted science. They lied about what scientific studies were showing, and they got well-meaning doctors to think they could use powerful opioids like OxyContin to treat all kinds of pain. The result is that not only was the drug abused, but people suffered irreparable injuries; they became dependent on these drugs, and their lives never recovered.”
As for the comparisons made to Dopesick, Berg and Newman say they’re fans of the Hulu series. Both versions, they add, were in development at the same time three years ago.
“Dopesick was very well done, but Painkiller is a completely different tonal experience,” Berg said. “I say that as a fan of Dopesick. I’ve known Michael Keaton for years and think he did an incredible job. We’re just a completely different flavor. Watch 15 minutes of Painkiller, and you’ll have an entirely different experience.”
Per Newman, this story cannot be told too much. “We hope that there’s an opioid show every year. When you get into this world and realize that so many of these victims have been blamed for their demise, you feel like you must continue telling the story.”
Alongside Broderick and Aduba, Taylor Kitsch, Dina Shihabi, Carolina Bartczak, and West Duchovny star in the series executive produced by Newman, Berg, Alex Gibney, and showrunners/creators/writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.
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