Painkiller on Netflix: Will there be a second season?

This is a full box for Netflix. No one could have predicted the success of Painkiller, a 6-part series chronicling the origins of the opioid crisis in the United States. Since the 1990s, pharmaceutical lobbies have heavily encouraged general practitioners to prescribe opiate-based painkillers to their addicted patients… without much publicity and effective word of mouth, it took the top spot. Pretty quickly (before being dethroned by this documentary).

The Painkiller was originally pitched as a mini-series by Netflix, meaning it was never their intention to make a season 2. And the story of the heroes goes in this direction:

The character played by Uzo Aduba has ended up testifying before the legal team responsible for taking down Purdue Pharma. A person camped by Taylor Kitsch is aware of their addiction and knows they need to get help. As for the Big Bad Wolf, played by Matthew Broderick, the last card explains what happened to him. The circle is somehow closed (even pending some legal decisions).

What’s interesting about painkillers is that the topic is much broader. The introduction of OxyContin and other narcotic painkillers marked the country forever, and the devastation is still felt today: “More than 40 people die every day in the United States from opioid overdoses.” shows the end of the series. So there’s still something to say about this topic, even if it’s not directly related to the Season 1 characters.

Also, keep in mind that the miniseries format has not prevented Netflix from renewing the program in the past. This is especially true of Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher, which was offered a Season 2 when it should have been shelved in the first place. At the moment, the platform does not talk about painkillers, so anything is still possible.