Trailer For Matthew Broderick and Peter Berg's Netflix Series PAINKILLERS About The Opioid Crisis in America
Netflix has shared the first trailer for its upcoming series Painkiller, which is a scripted series about the origins of the opioid crisis in America. The movie comes from director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Hancock, Battleship, Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, and Patriots Day) and it stars Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).
Over the course of six episodes, the series 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 the medical drug known as OxyContin. An examination of crime, accountability, and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
Berg explains that it’s an 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] was the introduction of the drug into mainstream medicine. How Arthur Sackler, this psychiatrist… 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."
This is an important story that needs to be told. I’ve personally seen how opioids can ruin lives and cause death, and it’s crazy to me that the people at the head of it all are not held accountable. So, it’s shows like these that shed light on these problems.
The series also stars Uzo Aduba, Taylor Kitsch, Dina Shihabi, and West Duchovny. This series is going to paint all of the people and the companies who profited off these drugs in a very bad light, which is what they deserve.
Berg directed all six episodes of the series, with showrunners Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster handling the series. Netflix will debut Painkillers on August 10th, 2023.
