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

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

Painkiller is the latest Netflix drama, but to millions of people, it is a tragic true story that hits close to home. Based on Barry Meier’s 2003 book Painkiller and Patrick Radden Keefe’s 2017 New Yorker article “Empire of Pain,” which also became a 2021 book, Painkiller presents multiple perspectives on the opioid epidemic.
Richard Sackler (Matthew Broderick) leverages his family’s stake in Purdue Pharmaceuticals to invent the next miracle drug after oxycodone. Glen Kruger (Taylor Kitsch) is an auto mechanic who becomes addicted to Purdue’s OxyContin painkiller after his doctor prescribes it for an on-the-job injury. Meanwhile, Purdue salesperson...

Painkiller is the latest Netflix drama, but to millions of people, it is a tragic true story that hits close to home. Based on Barry Meier’s 2003 book Painkiller and Patrick Radden Keefe’s 2017 New Yorker article “Empire of Pain,” which also became a 2021 book, Painkiller presents multiple perspectives on the opioid epidemic.
Richard Sackler (Matthew Broderick) leverages his family’s stake in Purdue Pharmaceuticals to invent the next miracle drug after oxycodone. Glen Kruger (Taylor Kitsch) is an auto mechanic who becomes addicted to Purdue’s OxyContin painkiller after his doctor prescribes it for an on-the-job injury. Meanwhile, Purdue salesperson Britt Hufford (Dina Shihabi) trains Shannon Schaeffer (West Duchovny) to push OxyContin to doctors’ practices, and investigator Edie Flowers (Uzo Aduba) grows suspicious about the rise in OxyContin prescriptions and investigates Purdue.
Each episode opens with a real parent whose child died of an OxyContin overdose. Though the show condenses some events and composites some characters, Painkiller presents a fictionalized history of the very real opioid epidemic created by the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. The series is a tribute to the families who have suffered losses and those who still grieve.
Director and executive producer Pete Berg ( Friday Night Lights ), who directed all six episodes, talked to Rotten Tomatoes about the show, series star Kitsch, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood. Painkiller director and executive producer Pete Berg speaks with series star Taylor Kitsch (Photo by Keri Anderson/Netflix) Fred Topel for Rotten Tomatoes: This is your reunion with Taylor Kitsch we’ve been waiting for, and he’s also in your upcoming show American Primeval. Have you watched him grow up from his role in Friday Night Lights to Painkiller? Pete Berg: I have. I really admire Taylor, his work ethic and his determination to really move out of Friday Night Lights and avoid a career that could’ve just been that great looking Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights and turn himself into a real actor with a craft and discipline. I just have a tremendous amount of respect for him and how hard he’s worked. It’s fun for me to see that and to be able to participate in it.
In the case of Painkiller, Taylor Kitsch has some very close personal connection to people who’ve been addicted to OxyContin and have really struggled. It was something I thought he would connect to quite intensely. I love working with him, and I’ll continue to work with him, but as soon as we had an idea of where these shows were going, he was my first call. Kitsch as Glen Kryger in Painkiller (Photo by Keri Anderson/Netflix) Is Glen based on a real case? Berg: There’ve been tens of thousands of Glens; just hardworking family people who got hurt, often by accident, who were in pain and were prescribed OxyContin, particularly back in the days when nobody knew what OxyContin was. He just got caught in the web of addiction. There are tens of thousands of Glens so when people say, “Is Glen a composite character?” I say, “Kind of yes and no.” I’ve known Glens. I’m sure you’ve known Glens or if you don’t know them personally, you know someone that does. Painkiller star Matthew Broderick on set with Berg (Photo by Keri Anderson/Netflix) Did you take a similar approach to Painkiller as your true story movies Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon , and Patriots Day ? Berg: I did, with the exception being that with Deepwater Horizon or Lone Survivor or Patriots Day, I was able to research by talking to the principle people that were involved. The Navy SEALs, law enforcement, and some of the families in Boston, Mike Williams and others that were on the oil rig tha...