Netflix just announced a limited series named Painkiller, which would focus on America’s real-life opioid issue. This drama, starring Matthew Broderick and Uzo Aduba as the key characters, will follow a fictitious version of events that led to one of America’s worst crises in recent years.

The streaming platform released a trailer for the upcoming series, showing a glimpse of the complex criminal world that caused this big crisis.

The synopsis reads:

“Explores some of the origins and aftermath of the opioid crisis in America, highlighting the stories of the perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin. [It is an] examination of crime, accountability, and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans.”

When and Where Is Painkiller Premiering?

“Painkiller” will have six episodes and is scheduled to debut on Netflix on August 10, 2023.

Painkiller trailer: Pain, pleasure, and Greed

The Painkiller trailer reveals how OxyContin, a legal drug prescribed by doctors, is connected to the opioid crisis in America. It shows the people profiting from it, its widespread use across the country, and those who are working to stop its harmful effects.

The creators of the series took a realistic approach, capturing some stunning visuals and impressive sound work in the trailer.

“Painkiller” is inspired by Barry Meier’s book and Patrick Radden Keefe’s article from the New Yorker Magazine. But instead of showing real events, the show will tell the story in a fictionalized way, adding their own twist to the tale.

During Netflix’s Tudum event, Director Peter Berg discussed the series and shared important details about it.

He said:

“Everyone knows that the opioid crisis is bad…But this is the origin story of the collision between medicine and money that allowed it to happen. 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 added:

“How Arthur Sackler, this psychiatrist from New York who specialized in lobotomies, started to realize that the future was in pills — specifically in advertising pills. Whoever could market their drug better was going to make the most money…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.”

Executive producer Eric Newman emphasized the significance of this limited series by stating:

“We wanted to mirror the effects of opioids: the warmth and the hope and the relief of taking a pill that’s going to deliver you from your suffering and then watching it become suffering.”

When and Where Was Painkiller Filmed?

Netflix commenced production on their anticipated limited drama series, Painkiller, in Toronto, Canada, in April 2021. The filming concluded in November 2021.