Painkiller: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes

Netflix

Watch Painkiller — Limited Series with a subscription on Netflix.

Critics Consensus

Painkiller honors the victims of the opioid crisis with effective dramatic beats but is undermined by its stale satirical flourishes, resulting in a tonally confused bit of muckraking.

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Larry J

Exposing the barbarities of the system.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Rhianna J

Unfortunately the good content gets lost in this messy and chaotic series. Choppy cinematography, aggressive soundtrack and grimy editing. This could have been better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

Legion A

Fictional characters everywhere, a laughable score or music, childish, ghetto undertones. The director tried to do a "Wolf of Wall Street" style approach and failed."There is some entertainment value.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

Full Review

Diane H

I learnt so much from watching this series. I thought it was well acted, moving and that it told an important story which highlighted the role lack of knowledge, morals and greed has played in exploiting huge swathes of society. Shocking and sad but I believe a must see series.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/01/24

Full Review

Dan S

Made up characters not representative of truth.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/31/23

Full Review

inta k

okay, but not too interesting

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

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Micah Fitzerman-Blue

Creator

Noah Harpster

Creator

Uzo Aduba

Edie

Matthew Broderick

Richard Sackler

Taylor Kitsch

Glen Kryger

Dina Shihabi

Britt

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Episode 1

Aired Aug 10, 2023

The One to Start With, The One to Stay With

Seizing an opportunity, Richard bets on an opiate that relieves pain; college graduate Shannon takes a job at Purdue: Glen suffers a workplace injury.

Details

Episode 2

Aired Aug 10, 2023

Jesus Gave Me Water

A patient using OxyContin attends a Purdue conference; Edie witnesses the drug's adverse effects; Richard faces roadblocks in his pursuit of profit.

Details

Episode 3

Aired Aug 10, 2023

Blizzard of the Century

Glen is forced to detox when his addiction lands him in the ER; Edie struggles to convince her new boss, the U.S. attorney, to build a case against Purdue.

Details

Episode 4

Aired Aug 10, 2023

Is Believed

Edie works to expose Purdue; Shannon enjoys the perks of her job but faces a moral dilemma; pushed to the brink, Glen starts losing control at work.

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Episode 5

Aired Aug 10, 2023

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Glen hits rock bottom; Shannon attends a raucous work after-party; Edie uncovers damning evidence in her case against a pharmaceutical giant.

Details

Episode 6

Aired Aug 10, 2023

What's In a Name?

Glen starts sobriety; Shannon reevaluates her role; using new evidence, Edie and the team take Purdue to court as the case comes to a stunning end.

Details

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Taylor Kitsch’s Glen Kicks His Opioid Addiction in an Exclusive Sneak Peek at Painkiller

Painkiller Director Pete Berg on Taylor Kitsch, Tragic True Stories of the Opioid Crisis, and the Strikes

Painkiller: Limited Series Trailer

2:29

Painkiller: Limited Series Episode 3 Exclusive Sneak Peek - It's Over

0:55

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Emily Zemler

Observer

The show raises a lot of good questions and makes important points, but occasionally it feels like details are omitted in favor of visual flair.

Oct 20, 2023

Full Review

Judy Berman

TIME Magazine

The facts that Painkiller spoon-feeds viewers are readily available elsewhere...

Aug 17, 2023

Full Review

Amber Dowling

Globe and Mail

For viewers with a vague awareness of the crisis, the series is a somewhat digestible watch that brings you up to speed with good music, acting and characters.

Aug 14, 2023

Full Review

Pallavi Keswani

The Hindu

Painkiller relies heavily on dramatisations and heightened emotional sequences, rendering it more of an angry gesture aimed at Purdue Pharma than a fictional account of a horrific truth.

Jan 23, 2024

Full Review

Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Any honest, observant viewer is likely to extend the condemnation to the profit system as a whole, which is entirely willing to sacrifice untold numbers of lives in exchange for cash flow.

Sep 22, 2023

Full Review

Jim Schembri

jimschembri.com

There’s no love for Big Pharma here, a fast-paced, factually inspired drama that takes a deep dive into the opioid crisis...big-screen veteran Peter Berg does an excellent job maintaining focus on the many story threads without ever letting the pace sag.

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 7, 2023

Full Review

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Director: Peter Berg
Executive Producer: Eric Newman, Peter Berg, Alex Gibney, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Patrick Radden Keefe
Screenwriter: Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Boo Killebrew, Noah Harpster, Will Hettinger
Network: Netflix
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date: Aug 10, 2023

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