Netflix users have found a 'new favorite binge' in Matthew Broderick's new series Painkiller, which is based on 'wild' true events.
The six-episode series only arrived on Netflix on Thursday (10 August), but it's already caught the attention of countless Netflix users and shot to the Number 1 spot in the streamer's Top 10 shows.
Described as a 'fictionalized retelling' of the opioid crisis in America, the series explores the causes and aftermath of the crisis and introduces viewers to 'perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers' whose lives have been changed forever due to the work of Purdue Pharma, the company behind the drug OxyContin.
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Broderick stars as billionaire Richard Sackler, a senior executive and the nephew of Arthur Sackler, the founder of Purdue.
Speaking to Netflix about the role last year, Broderick explained that Sackler's company has 'developed kind of a great drug, a miracle for a lot of people giving their lives back, and well, there’s a very bad side to it'.
“He feels that he’s helping an enormous amount of people. It’s the only thing we have to get through pain, and I think Richard fully believes that," Broderick explained.
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Viewers can't get enough of the series, with many taking to social media to praise the way it depicts the opioid crisis.
"#PainkillerNetflix is my new favorite binge. It shows the root of the opioid crises, as seen through the eyes of perpetrators, and victims," one person wrote after watching the show.
Another added: "Painkillers on Netflix is wildddddd."
"Bravo to @Netflix for their new series #Painkillers. Creative storytelling, integrity for victims, and powerful calls for accountability," wrote a third.
As well as Broderick, Painkiller features Taylor Kitsch, Uzo Aduba and West Duchovny, among others, with the episodes inspired by the book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier, and The New Yorker article The Family That Built an Empire of Pain, by Patrick Radden Keefe.
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Aduba plays a fictional character named Edie Flowers, an investigator for the US Attorney’s office who attempts to bring a case against Purdue Pharma for their role in the epidemic.
Pete Berg, one of the executive producers of the show, told Netflix the creators sought to 'unpack the complexities of what Purdue did and how the opioid epidemic started to spread throughout the United States and other countries'.
“That’s kind of dense and complex, and Uzo is sort of our guide on that journey," he explained.
Painkiller is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Celebrity, Drugs, Health