PAINKILLER Trailer (2023) Matthew Broderick, Uzo Aduba, Taylor Kitsch

PAINKILLER Trailer (2023) Matthew Broderick, Uzo Aduba, Taylor KitschShow more

PAINKILLER Trailer (2023) Matthew Broderick, Uzo Aduba, Taylor Kitsch
© 2023 - Netflix

After the success of Dopesick, Netflix is offering its take on the devastation of the opioid epidemic in America.

On Tuesday, Netflix released the first trailer for Painkiller, its forthcoming drama starring Matthew Broderick as Purdue Pharma executive Richard Sackler.

“All of human behavior is comprised of two things: Run from pain, run towards pleasure,” Sackler says at the beginning of the trailer. As the pacing picks up, he repeats chillingly, “Pain, pleasure. Pain, pleasure.”

“If we place ourselves right there between pain and pleasure,” he continues, "we will never have to worry about money again."
Uzo Aduba, Taylor Kitsch, Dina Shihabi and West Duchovny also star in the new series directed by Peter Berg.

Berg described Painkiller as an origin story of when medicine and money collide. “One of the many things that I thought was missing [from the conversation about OxyContin] was the introduction of the drug into mainstream medicine,” he said in a press release.
“We wanted to make sure people knew upfront that there might be some farcical moments in this show, but that we don't think there's anything remotely funny about the Sackler family, Purdue and the opioid crisis,” Berg continued.
The series is based on the book Painkiller by Barry Meier and The New Yorker article "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain’" by Patrick Radden Keefe.
In October 2020, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in the nation's opioid epidemic as part of an $8 billion settlement, per the Justice Department.

The company admitted to three felony counts, including two for violating federal anti-kickback laws, and conspiracy to defraud the United States government, officials told the Associated Press.

Members of the Sackler family that own the company agreed to pay $225 million in a related settlement to resolve civil penalties, however, the agreement does not release them from facing any future criminal liability.
While the company admitted criminal liability, executives did not admit to any criminal wrongdoing.

The settlement was the biggest display yet by the federal government to hold a drugmaker accountable for the opioid crisis, the AP reported.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the opioid epidemic resulted in the deaths of more than 450,000 Americans since 1999.

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Painkiller will premieres Aug. 10 on Netflix.