Delving deep into the US opioid epidemic, Painkiller, new Netflix drama, premiered on Thursday, August 10th.
“Painkiller” stars Matthew Broderick as Purdue Pharma CEO Richard Sackler, while West Duchovny portrays Shannon Shaeffer – one of his “Oxycontin Kittens” who goes off to sell the dangerously addictive painkillers to doctors.
So what’s the real story behind the new series? What caused the opioid epidemic featured in the series? Who is Purdue Pharma?
Read below for all the important information about the new Netflix series Painkiller.
Matthew Broderick stars as Purdue Pharma CEO Richard Sackler in Painkiller. Pictured: Broderick appears in the trailer for the new series
Is Painkiller based on a true story?
The new Netflix drama explores the true story of the opioid epidemic in the United States, which Purdue Pharma has been blamed for misleading the public about how addictive the drug OxyContin is.
The show itself focuses on the early days of the opioid crisis, taking a look at Purdue Pharma and OxyContin.
Painkiller drew inspiration for its plot from two texts: the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier and an article in The New Yorker by Patrick Radden Keefe entitled “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” published in October 2017.
As a result, Meier is listed as a consulting producer while Keefe is listed as an executive producer.
“The crisis didn’t just happen like a hurricane or a flood,” Gibey says in the show’s press releases.
“It was something that was made; manufactured by companies that want to make huge profits. I realized that this opioid crisis that I’ve heard so much about was not just a crisis, it really was a crime,” explained producer Alex Gibey in the show’s press releases.
What caused the opioid epidemic in Painkiller?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the epidemic began in the United States in the late 1990s as opioid prescriptions for pain management increased, leading to an increase in overall opioid use in the years that followed.
The epidemic began with overprescribing and misuse of prescription drugs.
However, as access to prescription drugs became more difficult in 2016 in response to the CDC’s opioid prescription guidelines, access to cheaper, illegal alternatives to opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, increased.
In 2021, there were 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States, a nearly 15 percent increase from the previous year.
In fact, one notorious family has been closely linked to the opioid epidemic in the US: the Sacklers.
Richard Sackler – played by Matthew Broderick – became President of Purdue Pharma in 1991
Who are the real people behind the fictional characters in Painkiller?
Richard Sackler – played by Matthew Broderick – became president of Purdue Pharma in 1991 and ran marketing campaigns that lured droves of medical professionals to buy Purdue’s opioid.
Sackler, who was born in New York on March 10, 1945, was previously married to Beth Sackler.
The couple had three children – Rebecca, Marianna and David – but are now divorced.
Uzo Aduba also plays Edie Flowers, the attorney who takes on Purdue Pharma, in the new series.
The series follows Edie on a journey as she tries to take on the Sackler family in the 1990s and early 2000s before the series continues in time and sees her give advice to other attorneys who are preparing their own lawsuits against Purdue Pharma strain.
Who is Purdue Pharma and what crimes have they been convicted of?
Purdue Pharma was a pharmaceutical company founded in New York in 1892 by John Purdue Gray.
The company was primarily owned by members of the Sackler family, who were descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sackler.
Richard Sackler became President of Purdue Pharma in 1991 and directed marketing campaigns that attracted droves of medical professionals to purchase Purdue’s opioid.
The company was best known as the developer of the drug OxyContin, but has faced multiple lawsuits and fines after being linked to the US opioid epidemic.
Richard became co-chairman in 2003, by which time $1.6 billion in OxyContin stock had been sold.
His marketing plans drew suspicion, and in 2015 Richard was fired before his company paid out a $24 million settlement to the state of Kentucky.
In July 2023, it was announced that Purdue Pharma may be seeking a bankruptcy settlement that would protect the Sackler family owners from lawsuits, although that case could potentially be appealed to the US Supreme Court following a US court ruling.
Uzo Aduba also plays Edie Flowers, the attorney who takes on Purdue Pharma, in the new series
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals approved Purdue’s bankruptcy plan in May 2023, ruling that the company can protect its owners from opioid lawsuits in exchange for a $6 billion contribution to the company’s broader bankruptcy settlement.
Following the ruling, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) bankruptcy commissioner asked the court to stay approval of the bankruptcy plan to allow time for a possible appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The DOJ argued that Purdue should not be allowed to proceed with its reorganization before the Supreme Court has had an opportunity to rule on legal protections for non-bankrupt companies, an issue that has divided bankruptcy courts across the United States
The DOJ said it intends to file a petition with the Supreme Court by Monday, August 28, 2023.