How many episodes of ‘Painkiller’ are there?

10 August, 2023

Matthew Broderick plays the face of a big pharma company in Netflix's 'Painkiller'

The latest Netflix original series to become a summer hit looks set to be the drug drama Painkiller, fronted by Matthew Broderick – you can find episode details below.

The series takes on the ever-headline-making prescription drugs crisis that continues to grip America and other parts of the world. Broderick plays a slick pharmaceutical executive, Richard Sackler, while Uzo Aduba’s Edie Flowers is the government lawyer set on taking him down.

An official synopsis for Painkiller reads: “A fictionalized retelling of events, Painkiller is a scripted limited series that explores some of the origins and aftermath of the opioid crisis in America, highlighting the stories of the perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin.

“An examination of crime, accountability, and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans, Painkiller is based on the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier and the New Yorker magazine article The Family That Built an Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe.”

'Orange Is The New Black' star Uzo Aduba plays a federal lawyer in 'Painkiller'
Uzo Aduba plays a federal lawyer in this riff on the battle against big pharma. CREDIT: Netflix

How many episodes of Painkiller are there?

The first season of Painkiller comprises six one hour episodes that chart the battle between the good guys (Flowers and the Feds) and the big bad (Sackler and his Pharma company).

As with many TV series on Netflix, the series will have its entire season released in one go as of Thursday, August 10. That means viewers can choose when and how they want to watch the drama unfold.

  • Episode One, The One To Start With, The One To Stay With (out now)
  • Episode Two, Jesus Gave Me Water (out now)
  • Episode Three, Blizzard of the Century (out now)
  • Episode Four, Is Believed (out now)
  • Episode Five, Hot! Hot! Hot! (out now)
  • Episode Six, What’s in a Name (out now)

NME‘s Alex Flood says that while Painkiller doesn’t quite have the depth or nuance of its older rival, Dopesick, it’s still engrossing.

Is there a trailer for Painkiller?

Yes, there is – watch it below.

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