Matthew Broderick, Taylor Kitsch and Uzo Aduba are among the cast of Painkiller, the Netflix drama series that's completely freaked out fans. After landing on the streaming platform on Thursday, viewers have already taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the show for its "raw" and "insane" depiction of the opioid crises in the United States.
"Started watching the miniseries Painkiller on Netflix and holy [expletive]. The way we've talked about this and how this changed lives and careers (especially mine) is so insane to watch like this. What a horrible tragedy through and through due to men's greed. MUST WATCH," wrote one.
"Painkiller is insane and this is all real life. Every episode, I'm doing my own research straight after. The rules in America are so different," added another. "This show Painkillers is INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" agreed a third.
Meanwhile, a fourth penned: "'Painkiller' on Netflix although dramatized for entertainment purposes is some of the most real, raw, most anger-inducing [expletive] you can watch. Especially if you or someone you know has lost their lives or themselves to opiate addiction. It's [expletive] disgusting."
The official synopsis for Painkiller reads: "A fictionalized retelling of events, Painkiller is a scripted limited series that 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 OxyContin.
"An examination of crime, accountability, and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans, Painkiller is based on the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier and the New Yorker Magazine article 'The Family That Built an Empire of Pain' by Patrick Radden Keefe."
Within the series, Matthew Broderick portrays Richard Sackler, the American billionaire businessman and physician who was the CEO of Purdue Pharma. The company is famed for developing OxyContin, a highly-addictive opioid used medically to treat moderate to severe pain.
Meanwhile, actress Uzo Aduba takes on the role of Edie Flowers, an investigator at the US Attorney's office who takes on Purdue Pharma in the '90s and early 2000s. Delivering an equally heartbreaking performance, Taylor Kitsch stars as Glen Kryger, a mechanic who enters a vicious cycle of addiction after he's prescribed OxyContin for an injury.
Speaking about his role on the show, Taylor told Netflix: "Man, it's pretty close to me, this thing. Unfortunately, I think we're all one degree away from someone who's an addict."
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He added: "I'm very lucky to have served a lot of true stories and heavy things. And this is right up there for me in the sense of purpose, of why I get to do what I do."