Painkiller review: Is the Netflix limited drama worth the watch? 

Netflix's latest limited series, Painkiller, is a contemptuous, engrossing, and shocking medical drama that presents to viewers the dilapidated situation of America’s healthcare system. Exploring the creation and impact of Purdue Pharma's Oxycontin, the Netflix series presents a shocking insight into the devastating impact the drug had on millions of Americans.

Painkiller is based on a book by the same name by Barry Meier and a New Yorker Magazine article titled The Family That Built an Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. It tells the story of the Sackler family, in particular Richard Sackler who was the owner of Purdue Pharma and known for developing OxyContin.

Starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick, Painkiller is a six-part limited drama series with a complex and moving narrative that interweaves four storylines highlighting the issue. The series made its debut with all six episodes, on the Netflix streaming platform, this August 10, 2023.

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Painkiller connects four intruiging storylines to lay bare the systematic way in which Purdue Pharma operated

The Netflix series interweaves Richard Sackler's storyline with three other main plot points all of which intersect to explore the impact of the lethal drug's development.

The series introduces Edie Flowers (Uzo Aduba), a determined lawyer aiming to stop the negative impact of OxyContin on people's lives. Working as an investigator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Flowers narrates the show, recounting how the drug drastically changed the American healthcare landscape.

Another storyline explores the character of Shannon Shaeffer, a sales representative for OxyContin, who is taken in by the riches and glamour of the industry. Parallely, we get a glimpse of the lethal impact of the drug through the story of Glen Kryger, a mechanic who develops an addiction for the drug after an accident.

Developed by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, through various subplots Painkiller lays bare the intricate web of lies and deception that the drug company worked through. The series exposes the ways through which the physician Arthur Sackler built the family’s dynasty through decades of questionable business practices that endangered the life of thousands, and how his nephew, Richard Sackler continued the legacy and expanded the business.

The series also follows how Purdue Pharma amassed armies of attractive young representatives to push the pill, and lays bare the complacancy of the FDA in the whole ordeal.

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Painkiller offer a heavy narrative with excruiciating detail of drug abuse

Blurring the boundary between the real and the reel, Painkiller at times feels like a dramatised documentary that takes up very real incidents but adds a fictive touch to it. Aside from the few fictive elements in the story, Flowers' narration does a specifically effective job in adding that dramtic touch which turns the series from a documentary to a drama.

Besides the overarching narrative offered by Flowers, Painkiller also cuts back and forth between people who were prescribed the drug and who became addicted to it. Overdosed teenagers, a medical examiner performing an autopsy only to find half-a-dozen undigested pills in the stomach, and especially the character of Glen who throws up a mouthful of blood while vigerously brushing his teeth, lay bare the horrific reality of drug abuse casued by Oxycotin.

The drama comes with a satirical tone with a considerably heavy plotline and narrative, making it almost impossible to sit through all the episodes in one go.

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Catch Painkiller now streaming on Netflix with all six episodes.