Actors Taylor Kitsch, Ana Cruz Kayne, Tyler Ritter, and John Ales have all joined Netflix’s upcoming limited drama series titled Painkiller.
Other new additions include Sam Anderson, Carolina Bartczak, Jack Mulhern, and Ron Lea. The actors will join the previously announced cast including Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick, West Duchovny, Dina Shihabi, and John Rothman.
Painkiller is inspired by the New Yorker article ‘The Family That Built an Empire of Pain’ by Patrick Radden Keefe and the book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author Barry Meier.
The story explores the origins of the opioid crisis and the role of Purdue Pharma. Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, the six episodes of the series are directed by Peter Berg. The production of the series is set to begin later this year in Toronto.
Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster will also executive produce and serve as showrunners. The drama is also executive produced by Eric Newman, Alex Gibney and Berg. Both Keefe and Meier serve as consultants on the series.