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Painkiller takes on the Sacklers and the Oxy epidemic: This limited series takes on the events leading up to the creation of the highly addictive opioid pain reliever Oxycontin and the family behind it all. The series follows an interview between federal investigator Edie Flowers (masterfully played by Uzo Aduba), giving the audience a play-by-play of what led Oxycontin to be one of the most devastating drugs to hit the US market, and the role of Richard Sackler (played by Matthew Broderick) — and tangentially, the US Food and Drug Administration — in successfully commodifying pain to create a multi-bn USD industry. Looking at the topic from all angles, the series is both engaging and deeply sad. It shows how severe addiction wreaks havoc on families, tears communities apart, and spreads crime and homelessness at alarming rates — and how the people selling and marketing the drugs are wholly disconnected from the consequences.

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