Netflix released the first looks of its upcoming limited series Painkiller, on social media. The series will premiere on August 10.
The series focuses on the origins and aftermath of America's opioid epidemic, but takes a fictional route of storytelling. It stars Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick and Taylor Kitsch. The series is executive produced by Eric Newman, Peter Berg, and Alex Gibney.
Painkiller is based on the book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier and New York article The Family That Built an Empire of Pain authored by Patrick Radden Keefe. "The series explores some of the origins and aftermath of the opioid crisis in the US and offers an examination of crime, accountability and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans," reads the synopsis.
The show runners of Painkiller are Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. Others part of the cast include West Duchovny, Dina Shihabi, John Rothman and Tyler Ritter. While Aduba plays a lawyer working for US attorney, Broderick essays the role of a scion of the billionaire family.