Genre: Current History Docudramas
Release Date: 2023
Where I Watched: Netflix

Gist: A look at how the Sackler family (BOO HISS ) conned the world into the opioid epidemic, through dramatic retellings of Purdue Pharmaceuticals higher ups, oxycontin reps, and individuals affected by the “believed” safe drug.

Gotta say: Yeah, I don’t typically review TV series. Mostly because I’m very lazy. But I was moved by Hulu’s Dopesick, so I decided to check out how Netflix would tackle this debacle. And Painkiller weaves together drama, mind-trips, and real life interviews with individuals who have lost loved ones due to this crisis. It’s a strange trip indeed, but delivers lots to think about, and plenty of moments that will hit you like a gut punch.

Matthew Broderick does a convincingly strange, menacing turn as “Uncle Richard” Sackler, the man who took charge of Purdue after Arthur Sackler Sr. died, building the company into an oxycontin juggernaut. Director Peter Berg mixes a little of The Big Short with a lot of investigative drama, and while it might be a bit heavy handed at times, the cast deliver amazing performances that absolutely drew me in. Big shout outs to Taylor Kitch as a man hooked on oxy after a severe back injury, West Duchovny as an oxy rep who’s initially drawn into the lavish lifestyle, and Uzo Aduba as an Federal investigator looking into the drug.

Based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” and Barry Meier’s nonfiction book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic, Painkiller had me from the jump. I binged it in one sitting and didn’t even notice how the time flew by. This series has a wider scope and lighter touch than Dopesick, yet I was still rooting for (and in some cases, booing at) the characters. And becoming completely broken hearted by the real life people who discuss their personal tragedies in each episode’s extremely effective opening moments.


Come for: The “hmm, how’s this measure up to Dopesick” thing.
Stay for: A fascinating look at various people – all layered as hell – affected by this horrible epidemic.