Netflix’s next drug drama will take place in America and will reportedly set its sights on the opioid crisis. Variety reported on Tuesday that Painkiller, a drama set amid the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis, will be developed by a pair of journalists who have covered the crisis while Narcos: Mexico showrunner Eric Newman will lead the way overall.
Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster will write and serve as showrunners and executive producers on the series. The pair recently wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-nominated film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and previously collaborated on the Emmy-winning Amazon series “Transparent.”
“Narcos: Mexico” showrunner Eric Newman will executive produce under his overall deal with Netflix. Peter Berg is attached to direct all eight episodes of the series.
The report also noted that Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights) will direct the show’s episodes.
“I am really charged to be a part of such an in depth exploration of the genesis of the opioid travesty,” Berg said according to Variety. “Companies that profit off of death and addiction are fair game to me when it comes to illuminating the realities of how they go about their business.”
According to the report, two journalists who have covered the epidemic and its nefarious causes — Patrick Radden Keefe and Barry Meier — will serve as consultants on the show. Meier wrote “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic,” while Keefe wrote a New Yorker piece on the Sackler family, which run Perdue Pharma and have heavily advertised painkillers that have sparked the crisis in America.
[via Variety]
