What Are You Watching Right Now?
I started watching Painkiller on Netflix Friday night and wrapped it up early Saturday. I couldn’t turn it off. The six-episode series is based on an article from the New Yorker “The Family That Built An Empire of Pain” and Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier.
The series highlights families and victims of the opioid crisis. Fictionalized for television. But the story is based on truth. I am embarrassed to admit how much I didn’t realize was happening in the world of pharmaceuticals. How much is fueled on money and greed. The addiction. The pain. The problems created. Lives lost.
Painkiller looks at how the opioid crisis was created and what drove it. The Purdue Pharma, a company owned by Richard Sackler and his family, was the manufacturer of OxyContin. The Sackler family have been described as the “most evil family in America” and the “worst drug dealers in history”
Matthew Broderick plays Richard Sackler. Uzo Aduba plays Edie Flowers. A strong character. Taylor Kitsch plays the role of Glen Kryger incredibly well. We see him portray the story of a man who becomes addicted to the painkiller after a work injury and the destruction on his life and family that ensues.
This series will make you angry and break your heart. Have you watched? What did you think?
