Painkiller on Netflix

[Fla Dem]

The show, “Painkiller,” is a fictional story based on real events that transpired around the Sackler family, Purdue Pharma, and the marketing and distribution of their drug, OxyContin in the mid 1990 to 2000's'

Very well done semi fictional telling of how the Sackler family produced and distributed one of the most addictive, lethal, FDA approved "medications" in history which ended up killing hundreds of thousands of users.

Fictional parts were the drama around a family man who became addicted, young women who were seduced, not necessarily by sex, but by huge monetary incentives into becoming sales reps and of course Sackler family dialogue. The scenarios and characters were created based on true events. The Sackler family and top Pharma execs were of course based on real people. The story is told through the eyes of an FDA investigator.

Only 6 episodes 45 -60 minutes each.

Learned more than I was aware when all this was going on in the late 1990's even into today. Currently aware of the deadly fentanyl epidemic.

From 1999-2021, nearly 645,000 people died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids.
https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html

[Dave Bowman]

1. I watched it last month.

I really enjoyed the show and learned a lot of things about this whole catastrophe. Greed is the most destructive addiction there is for society. Fuck the Sacklers and anyone who was involved in this tragedy.

[The Blue Flower]

2. I watched Dopesick starring Michael Keaton

Also very well done and explained a lot. The FDA was in the Sacklers' pocket.

[dflprincess]

3. I've watched both.

I thought "Dopesick" was done better and kept to the facts. But "Painkiller" wasn't bad. It was a bit loose with the facts, but made the point about the Sackers though some of casting seemed odd.