Painkiller: Season 1

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Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Ratings

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Painkiller

Now Playing: Painkiller

Season Details & Credits

Netflix | Season Premiere Date: August 10, 2023

Summary: The limited series about the OxyContin and its role in the opioid crisis in America is based on Barry Meier's book and the New Yorker Magazine article by Patrick Radden Keefe.

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series

Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E8. Episode 8
Air Date: November 30, -0001
tbd
S1:E7. Episode 7
Air Date: November 30, -0001
tbd
S1:E6. What's in a Name?
Air Date: August 10, 2023

See all Seasons and Episodes

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Critic Reviews

Shane Ryan

Aug 10, 2023

On the spectrum of social contagion art, it belongs on a spot much closer to The Big Short than it does to WeCrashed, and to the extent that there are still eyes to be opened and outrage to be mustered in regard to the opioid crisis, it will do the job. Read full review

Roxana Hadadi

Aug 10, 2023

Through its comprehensive recounting of a still-timely, avoidable national tragedy and the effective performances that complement those realities, Painkiller operates like Oxy’s own time-release mechanism. Its devastation lingers. Read full review

Chris Vognar

Aug 10, 2023

The weakest overall link in the series is the Sackler family material, which never quite comes into focus. This was also the case in Dopesick. Perhaps it’s just difficult to fathom and effectively dramatize such bland, blinkered greed. But Painkiller is still mighty potent, another kaleidoscopic call to awareness of a massive public health crisis and the family most responsible for causing it. Read full review

Amelia Stout

Aug 10, 2023

As Painkiller progresses toward its climax, though, its frequent tonal shifts distract from the substance of the story. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Aug 10, 2023

Expect to like “Painkiller” while watching it, only to later cringe when thinking about it. Read full review

Brian Lowry

Aug 10, 2023

While “Painkiller’s” creative shortcomings don’t make that fallout any less significant or sickening, unlike those sales reps, the slick packaging here isn’t enough to close the deal. Read full review

Laura Miller

Aug 17, 2023

Glib, garish, and ham-fisted. .... Each episode of Painkiller opens with a real person explaining that, while the events in the show have been fictionalized, opioids’ effects on their own lives have been genuinely tragic. They hold up photos of their dead children. Some of them cry. This only manages to make the rest of the show seem even more grotesque. Read full review

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User Reviews

bhamss

Aug 10, 2023

not enough movies, tv series nor books can be made detailing the scourge of deceitfulness the most disgusting family in american history has caused to this world. and hurr durrr the wokeness oh i think it means consequences that occur in society for ones actions the thin skinned but hurt isnot enough movies, tv series nor books can be made detailing the scourge of deceitfulness the most disgusting family in american history has caused to this world. and hurr durrr the wokeness oh i think it means consequences that occur in society for ones actions the thin skinned but hurt is next level… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

ZpiKe69

Aug 11, 2023

Awesome insight to the dark world, very good directed and deeply tragic stories. 10 of 10

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

naud

Aug 11, 2023

Highly effective filmmaking all around, leveraging some familiar faces as villains. The writing, performances and Peter Berg's direction make for addictive viewing. Strong on style, but for the first couple of episodes at least, it's less tongue in cheek than tongue in teeth.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLuis_001

Aug 13, 2023

The miniseries doesn't exactly miss the mark when it comes to the quality of its production, but it's its lack of narrative depth that ultimately relegates it to the realm of forgettable content.

Considering the magnitude of the problem at hand – a genuinely serious crisis – PainkillerThe miniseries doesn't exactly miss the mark when it comes to the quality of its production, but it's its lack of narrative depth that ultimately relegates it to the realm of forgettable content.

Considering the magnitude of the problem at hand – a genuinely serious crisis – Painkiller merely skims the surface without any sincere intent to delve into the heart of the matter. This approach not only diminishes the significance of the issue but also comes across as exploitative rather than enlightening.

It's hard not to feel that Painkiller was fundamentally a convenient theme chosen to shape a show, offering something fresh for the Netflix catalog. Beyond this purpose, it struggles to carry any substantial weight or true sense of significance.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

coastda

Aug 10, 2023

I suppose the Sackler family can longer be slandered, no matter how outrageous the lies.
As America sinks into an addiction crisis of meth (utterly unrelated to Oxycontin) and fentanyl (with some relationship) Hollywood likes to make villains out of a few people who pushed the boundaries ofI suppose the Sackler family can longer be slandered, no matter how outrageous the lies.
As America sinks into an addiction crisis of meth (utterly unrelated to Oxycontin) and fentanyl (with some relationship) Hollywood likes to make villains out of a few people who pushed the boundaries of ethics.
Nonetheless they are hardly primarily responsible for Americans infatuation with drugs and the heroin epidemic of the 70s had NOTHING to do with it, and the present fentanyl epidemic has little.
All the PC characters in the film lecturing the non-woke characters may have "won" in that destroyed the Sackler empire, but America's drug addicts simply adapted and now even many drug treatment counselors wish we were still still dealing with the occasional pill mill over rare over-prescribing doctor.
Just pray that neither you nor a family member need long term pain treatment, because the latter day scolds have put a stigma on treatment that will take a couple generations to erase. Just hope that if you get very sick you just collapse, I do.… Expand

2 of 10 users found this helpful28

Signal1

Aug 15, 2023

Painkiller is a weak, tonally deaf series that does not come close to the much better and carefully crafted Dopesick which deals with the same material. Watching Painkiller is a painful experience.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Seasons & Episodes

56

Series Overview
Season 1

56
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: August 10, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E8. Episode 8
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- tbd
  S1:E7. Episode 7
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- tbd
  S1:E6. What's in a Name?
  Air Date: August 10, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E5. Hot! Hot! Hot!
  Air Date: August 10, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E4. Is Believed
  Air Date: August 10, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E3. Blizzard of the Century
  Air Date: August 10, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E2. Jesus Gave Me Water
  Air Date: August 10, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E1. The One to Start With, The One to Stay With
  Air Date: August 10, 2023