Drugs are the worst addictive substance to ever exist in this world. Some are easy to find and hunt down, but sometimes they are hard to find. Valium, Fentanyl, and Tryptophan are drugs that can be used for medicinal purposes too. Mainly used for treating extreme neuropathic disorders, drug lords often sell these to hide in plain sight. Netflix has brought a new show, Painkiller that talks about this particular issue.
If you are aware of how dangerous these drug businesses or chains can be, you might have heard about OxyContin. Not only did it affect its users, but the drug destroyed society as long as it existed. Families were broken, and people were left sick. Painkiller takes us back to Hicksville. It’s 1998 and sellers have spread OxyContin under the branches of society. Richard Sackler is the head of all operations – under the name of Perdue Pharmacy, Richard is running his drug business with the help of a few associates. He recruits Shannon Schaeffer, who has recently graduated from college and looking for a job to pursue.
Now, Edie Flowers starts to investigate. She has been aware of some reports of OxyContin prescriptions that have been flying around. Glen Kryger was a mechanic who got injured in his workplace. According to him, OxyContin has helped him to get back to work again. Edie starts to find out the doctors who give out this drug to their patients in the name of medicine. As days pass, she unfolds a lot of secret pharmacy deals and how far this drug has spread its roots. If you have watched Painkiller, you might be intrigued by similar shows. In this article, you will find a list of 10 shows like Painkiller. Feel free to watch them.
1. Narcos Mexico
Initially, this was believed to be the sequel to the famous ‘Narcos’. But, considering the new type of stories and characters involved, Netflix pushed this show as a separate title. As of now, there are 3 seasons. Narcos Mexico deals with the drug selling and trafficking world of Mexico during the 1980s. Felix Gallardo rises as a drug lord and takes the throne of Guadalajara. This is a cartel that was responsible for illegal drug usage and illegal trafficking. Agent Camarena moves in with his family to Guadalajara as they start to rise in their business. Camarena begins to discover more about the dangerous Guadalajara cartel. He understands that not only the drug war is harmful to his family, but if this keeps going forever, Mexico will never recover.
2. Euphoria
Teenage life is always confusing. And often teenagers are the ones constantly struggling to keep their heads up. At a young age, we think that numbing ourselves is the best way to deal with depressive feelings, grief, or any sort of negativity. Euphoria tells the story of Rue Bennett – she is a drug addict who has visited rehab to get out of her addiction. Now she doesn’t know how to adjust to the world. As Rue is struggling to understand her place, we get to see her pain, grief, and other emotions. Zendaya has done an impeccable job of playing Rue. The Amazon Prime series takes us through a whole lot of teenage drama. Apart from that, if you have watched Euphoria, you will know that the series deals with serious issues of child abuse, sexual harassment, mental illnesses, drug abuse, and homosexuality.
3. Dopesick
Now, this one is pretty much similar to what Painkiller shows us. So, Dopesick talks about the involvement of doctors in the spread of drugs. These drugs are opioids and they are extremely dangerous. Opioids to date are the most addictive and one of the most harmful substances out there. Micheal Keaton plays the role of one of those corrupt doctors who prescribe drugs to his patients. This is a pretty serious condition that rattled the entire US for years. US citizens have struggled to deal with opioid addiction because almost everyone was involved. The Food Department, the Ministries, the authorities – every single place was playing under the table for spreading opioids.
4. The Knick
The series takes us to the beginning of the 20th century. As the title suggests, in The Knick, we get to see the Knickerbocker Hospital and its miseries. The hospital in New York is somehow in a crisis. The staff of Knickerbocker is finding a hard time to revive patients fully. Hence, there is a comparatively smaller number of new patients coming in. The surgeons and the nurses are doing their best to learn about new healing and surgical techniques. But when Dr. John Thackeray comes to the hospital as the new Chief Surgery Specialist, the series unveils his hidden curse. The doctor is an addict of opium and other drugs. Without flooding the entire medical facility with illegal substances, we get to see Dr. Thackeray doing his best to treat his patients.
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5. Nurse Jackie
Apart from doctors, surgeons, and guards in a hospital, any medical facility should have the best nurses. Because often, it is the nurses who ultimately save the day. Nurses have to be aware, responsible, and most importantly, they have to be reasonable with their actions. Nurse Jackie is an American series on Showtime that deals with a partially irresponsible Nurse. Jackie Peyton has got a job in the Emergency Room. In this critical workplace, she is finding difficulty to cope. Her personal life is messed up and ridden with addiction. She is trying her best to be professional and comply according to her job in the best ways possible. Eddie Falco has done a great job portraying Nurse Jackie in this comedy series.
6. How To Fix A Drug Scandal
According to my opinion, this is the best crime documentary that circulates drug abuse and drug trafficking. This Netflix series is about two chemists who work as druggists. In their lab, they manufacture illegal drugs and have started their empire. When the police discovered this, the two lab chemists get arrested. But the main twists start to come up afterward. The two chemists undress the vulnerable judicious system. The juries get surprised after they fail to come to a decision. The duo have managed to control everyone starting from the DA’s office to the guards in prison. The documentary shows how druggists use the loopholes and corruption that exist within the Law itself.
7. Intervention
If we see our close ones suffering, it breaks out hearts. But to find out your family members getting addicted to drugs and substances? It is extremely heartbreaking. Addiction destroys families. Apart from the money involved, drugs take a heavy toll on overall health. Intervention is one of the best documentary series out there. Amazon Prime brings us real-life scenarios. We get to see family members getting furious after discovering drug addicts. They sit down for talking with them and afterward make them promise. If they cannot get over their drug abuse, the family will cut every possible tie with them.
8. Dope
Usually, drug-related shows and movies are kept a bit discrete when they are adopted from real incidents. But Dope is a documentary series that shows the reality of the drug wars and mafia involvements. Netflix has brought this documentary which shows us the scenario from a customer’s perspective. This is indeed a revolutionary take on the whole addiction series-based genre. It exposes how substances like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin get trafficked in and out of the US Mexico Borders. The drug dealers along with local cartel leaders always deliver their product hiding from the border authorities and police
9. Recovery Road
If you have watched Euphoria on Netflix, you know how hard it becomes for American teens to deal with their failures and toxic histories. With the abundance of drugs and illegal substances, it becomes quite easy to take in a drug that will fully keep your brain numb. Recovery Road is also a teenage drama. The series revolves around our teen protagonist Maddie. She is a serial substance abuser and finally, she gets into rehab. There, we can see Maddie talking to other fellow addicts and trying to know their stories. The others are also teens like her. The series upholds their struggles to deal with their newly started life. Maddie is yet to figure out what she will do after going out of rehab.
10. Legal Death: In Drugs We Trust
This is another educational documents series. BET+ has prepared a lesson for every one of us. See, the problem is not only with the ones who are selling the drugs. The problem lies well within the people who buy them. But as normal consumers, we often take medication and refer to pharmacists. Legal Death taught us to look for danger. Some medicines or clinically prescribed antidepressants can act as drugs. We won’t even realize that we are getting addicted to them. Opioids, psychotropics, and some antibiotics are dangerous in the long run. The series upholds every factually explained chemical knowledge that general customers should possess.
These are the 10 shows like Painkiller that you can watch in your free time. Although the viewers have expressed their discrepancies regarding some of the plots. According to some, some storylines are a bit hard to tie up with reality, whereas, to some people, the side characters have outshined the main characters. But in the end, all of them are pretty interesting from their perspectives.
Make sure to watch every one of the films I have listed here. You can watch the trailer of Painkiller at the beginning of the article. All 6 episodes of Season 1 are out on Netflix. If you want to watch Painkiller, click here.
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