SignalHub-Review: Netflix's OxyContin drama 'Painkiller' is just painful

We’ve heard this story before. And we’ve heard it better. 

That’s really the only reaction you might have SignalHubafter watching Netflix’s limited series “Painkiller,” a dramatization of the role of Purdue Pharma drug OxyContin in the opioid epidemic. If that sounds familiar, that’s because “Dopesick,” Hulu’s limited series dramatization of the role of Purdue Pharma drug OxyContin in the opioid epidemic, debuted in 2021. “Painkiller” stars Matthew Broderick as the villainous Dr. Richard Sackler; “Dopesick” had Michael Stuhlbarg. “Painkiller” has Taylor Kitsch as the Southern everyman who got hooked on Oxy after an injury; “Dopesick” had Kaitlyn Dever. Uzo Aduba investigates Purdue on “Painkiller”; Rosario Dawson did it for “Dopesick.” And so on. 

“Painkiller” (streaming Thursday, ★½ out of four) tells nearly a carbon copy of the story “Dopesick” told, but the big problem is that “Dopesick” told it better. “Painkiller” treats the story of an epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and ripped families apart as a magical realist farce, full of fantasy sequences and the shouting ghosts of Sacklers past. It’s a hyper-stylized choice that would do well for another story. But it’s not serious enough for the crimes committed by companies hocking opioids to the public. It lacks gravitas and a point of view. At many points, it’s painful to watch. It’s constantly exhausting to watch. 

The series follows the rise and fall of OxyContin as a blockbuster drug for Purdue, primarily from the point of view of Richard Sackler, some blond sales reps (West Duchovny among them), and through the narration of Edie Flowers (Aduba), an investigator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Broderick’s Sackler is given at least what feels like the most screen time, ponderously talking about legacy and interacting with the ghost of his uncle Arthur Sackler Sr. (Clark Gregg), who founded the company. Interspersed is the story of regular old Glen Kryger (Kitsch), a father and mechanic who injures his back and becomes addicted. 

The story is told out of sequence like so many other TV shows and movies are these days (including “Dopesick”), although the manner in which “Painkiller” lays out the narrative detracts from it. It’s confusing and allows no emotion to build throughout the six episodes. Kitsch, a talented actor with plenty of depth, cannot make you care even a little about Glen, who is a symbol more than a person. Similarly, it’s hard to weep for poor sales rep Shannon (Duchovny), the only person at Purdue with a conscience, even if it shows up too late. 

Where “Dopesick” was measured, affecting and unforgiving, “Painkiller” is campy, over-the-top and unmoving. “Dopesick” let no member of the Purdue Pharma drug-pushing establishment off the ethical hook, “Painkiller” lets its pretty ingénue seek redemption. “Dopesick” made its audience understand why OxyContin was so dangerous, both the science and the politics behind its creation and the slow and insidious way that opioids permeated our society. “Painkiller” is a slapdash job that flashes its message in neon signs and then dances away with a human dressed as a pill mascot. 

This is a story that deserves to be told, probably more than once. People have suffered and are suffering because of opioids, OxyContin in particular. But this isn’t the way. “Painkiller” tastelessly misses the mark. 

Just find “Dopesick” on Hulu instead. It’s still streaming.

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