If you want to watch a riveting, engaging, and widely-acclaimed streaming series focusing on America’s opioid crisis, then look no further than Hulu’s Dopesick. However, if you want a show that deals with the exact same thing but does it worse, then look no further than Netflix’s Painkiller.
Current Rotten Tomatoes scores of 42 and 59 percent from critics and audiences are a long way behind the 89 and 93 percent ratings of its spiritual contemporary, and we doubt Painkiller is going to match Dopesick’s 14 Primetime Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nods, either.
One thing they do share is an eclectic and esteemed ensemble cast, with Netflix drafting in Matthew Broderick, Clark Gregg, Taylor Kitsch, Uzo Aduba, and many more besides to explore the beginning, middle, and aftermath the drug-induced epidemic that ruined even more lives than it claimed, with the story digging deep into accountability that never came and the consequences that befell hundreds of thousands of people as a result.
The subject matter wasn’t handled expertly, with the jarring attempts at satire and black comedy creating a wildly veering tone that never really works, but its status as a splashy new original has at least guaranteed big viewing figures right off the bat.
Per FlixPatrol, Painkiller has arrived as the second most-watched episodic title around the world by debuting on the Top 10 in 74 countries, which still hasn’t been enough to knock The Lincoln Lawyer down from its perch. That might change in the coming days, but it depends if those scathing reviews have a knock-on effect.