01x06 - What's in a Name?

Episode transcripts for the TV series, "Painkiller". Aired: August 10, 2023.*
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Six-episode series, which is based on Patrick Radden Keefe's New Yorker article "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain" and Pain k*ller: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier, focuses on the birth of the opioid crisis, with an emphasis on Purdue Pharma, a company owned by Richard Sackler and his family that was the manufacturer of OxyContin.
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01x06 - What's in a Name?

Post by bunniefuu »

This program is based on real events.

However, certain characters, names,

incidents, location, and dialogue

have been fictionalized

for dramatic purposes.

However, our story is not fiction.

We lost our son Riley at

28 years old.

He became addicted to OxyContin

from a back injury. Uh

He tried his hardest to

get right and get straight again

and get sober,

and he just couldn't do it.

He was a wonderful kid,

he had the biggest heart you ever saw,

and our lives will never be the same.

I can't.

Hello.

First, I want you to know I'm sorry.

I am.

I'm really sorry.

You have to know that I thought

I was helping people. At first.

You have to believe that

because that's what I believed.

And then I knew I wasn't helping people.

And then I kept doing it.

I still did it.

And I think it's because

money fucks with your head.

It f*cked with my head,

and I think about if I could go back

and if I could do it different

But I don't I don't know.

I don't know.

I'm sorry.

I had no idea how weak

How weak I am.

And I just I'm done.

I'm done hurting people. I'm done.

Do I look like a psychiatrist?

This is e-mails, call notes,

everything, from day one.

I will do whatever you need.

I didn't care much

for that little Shannon Shaeffer,

but she loaded us up.

Gave us the case we needed

to present to the DOJ.

We had Purdue by the balls.

This was the f*cking crown jewels.

What can you tell me about titrating up?

That meant that we wanted the doctors

to continuously increase

- the dosage they were giving patients.

- They told you that?

Felt like the sheriff

in an old Western movie.

- Who are we talking about?

- Britt told me most of the things to say.

If you wanna make some money,

get doctors to prescribe a higher dosage.

- Britt what?

- Hufford.

There was Mr. Udell.

It's best that you call us.

Their success reflected my success.

Richard wanted us to get them to trust us,

to listen to us, to believe us.

- You've done good work, John.

- Team effort.

When we go after a Mafia,

we don't att*ck the family head on.

That's what we did with Enron.

Purdue should be no different.

We start with the lieutenants.

People who know the truth

and have a lot to lose.

That's Howard Udell for sure.

Goldenheim and Friedman were there

every step of the way too.

Once you pop these guys,

it's just another step up the ladder.

Let's get them.

- Hell-f*cking-yeah.

- I'm in.

Hell-f*cking-yes.

- Amen.

- Yeah.

- Think we can get him to flip?

- We only need one.

Mr. Friedman

consider this meeting

a professional courtesy.

The United States is going to be

bringing a case against you.

So now is the time

for you to make a choice.

Will you be cooperating with us?

Or will you be making things

much more difficult for yourself?

This is our case.

The United States versus you.

- What could you possibly charge me with?

- It's a felony to lie about a drug,

and it's a felony to make money

off a drug you know you lied about,

and it's a felony to conspire with others

to make money off a drug

you all lied about together.

How about this?

f*ck all of you.

This is horseshit.

- The DOJ will never support this.

- They already have.

In addition to all the above,

we're charging you, Mr. Udell

specifically with lying to Congress.

You're charging me?

You might wanna look through that report.

Why me?

Oh. You're the one

who testified to Congress

that the first time you heard

OxyContin was being abused

was when the U.S. attorney from Maine

sent that letter to all the doctors.

We know that was a lie.

I'm sure everybody knew it,

but you're the one who said it,

Dr. Goldenheim.

You're twisting my words.

So you're wondering now,

"Will Purdue protect me,

or throw me to the wolves

to save the company?"

It's a good question.

Do you really believe Richard Sackler

gives a f*ck about you or your family?

And speaking as a wolf,

we're ready for you

and we're gonna put you in jail

for a long time, Dr. Goldenheim.

Or you can cooperate.

- What are we supposed to do?

- I don't wanna go to jail.

No one is going to jail.

Someone is going to jail,

and it's not gonna be me!

They are not interested in us.

We are small fish.

- Quiet! Quiet!

- They want you. They want the family.

Nobody is gonna do a damn thing

until we get organized.

- I knew they would come for us.

- We just have to lawyer up.

You didn't take them seriously and now

these hillbillies are gonna disembowel us.

What were you thinking? You know?

I wish I knew.

- It's not f*cking okay!

- Come on, keep it together!

You think you're on some

holy f*cking crusade?

- Huh?

- Get off!

Stop!

You think you're helping people?

Fixing something that's broken?

We'll take care of you. You've been loyal

and you've done absolutely nothing

Unch, shut the f*ck up!

- Son! Don't talk to the dog

- Dad, shut the f*ck up.

You don't judge me!

I'm not a bad person.

I'm not a bad person.

f*ck is this?

- Snap out of it! Look at me.

- I mean it!

Executives at Purdue

have declined to cooperate.

Any idea what Purdue is offering them

to stay in line?

- They're not taking us seriously.

- No.

A case like this hasn't gone to trial

since Big Tobacco.

- Exactly.

- They fought.

Our case is miles ahead of theirs.

And they ended up paying $260 billion.

We're going to trial, aren't we?

Oh, yeah, we're going to trial.

It's time to talk settlement, Richie.

We must protect our name.

It stands for culture,

the arts, education, science.

Yeah. If not, we are gonna forever

be known as the OxyContin family.

- Is that what you want?

- I built this. I will defend it.

We need to cut a deal.

It's important we resolve this

right away, son.

If you retreat at all,

if you give them an inch,

they will never,

ever stop coming after us.

They will come after you

and your money

and your galleries and your schools.

They will hunt you down.

It might take years.

You might be dead and gone,

but they will destroy this family.

They will dismantle

everything we've built,

brick by brick.

- That's just not true, Richard.

- It is true. It is f*cking true.

Mark my words.

If we admit to any wrongdoing, at all,

they will make us pay forever.

Do not give them an inch.

Well, everybody wants to be the man

'til it's time to be the man.

- Yes.

- Mm.

What should I do?

Oh, you wanna know what to do?

You want some advice now?

You want me to take the wheel now

that the car is about to go off the cliff?

Please, be nice.

Nice? We are far past nice.

We left nice a long time ago.

We left nice in earwax removers.

We are no longer in the realm of nice.

We are good people.

- We're giving people their lives back.

- Okay, okay. Where you going?

- I don't know.

- Then we don't need to go anywhere yet.

- No? Okay.

- Okay, no.

You're a good boy.

I need you to be strong.

You're okay, that's it.

We are gonna go to w*r.

- Okay.

- You're gonna go to w*r now.

- Yep.

- Yep, but w*r is not nice.

This is real w*r.

It's ugly and it's dirty and it hurts.

Come on, it's okay. No, no, no.

Don't go. Okay. Okay. Okay.

You got this. Okay. Oh, yeah.

I don't wanna go to w*r.

Nobody wants to go to w*r,

but w*r is not a choice.

It's time for you to fight.

- You are strong and smart.

- Yeah.

- You will fight and we will win.

- Okay.

The Purdue and the Sackler name

must survive. Do you hear me?

- Say it with me. They must survive!

- They must survive!

- I'll win!

- I'll win.

- I'll fight!

- I'll fight.

- I will fight!

- I will fight!

- And I will win!

- I will win!

Yes. Sackler!

- Sackler!

- Yeah.

I will fight! I will fight!

I will fight.

Richard and Purdue went out and bought

the most expensive lawyers

money could buy.

My name is Mary Jo White.

I was the first female U.S. attorney

for the Southern District of New York.

I led the prosecution against

Gambino crime boss John Gotti in 1992.

And the World Trade Center bomber,

Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, in 1993.

I'm Howard Shapiro.

I was general counsel for the FBI

from 1993 to 1997.

Rudolph William Louis Giuliani.

We had 'em, we had 'em, we had 'em.

What?

I said congrats. A month, that's legit.

Oh.

Thanks, man.

Next.

- Morning, Shelby.

- Hi, Glen.

- How are you?

- Good.

Congrats on 30 days.

- Thank you. Have a good day.

- You too.

Let's get out of here.

- You all good?

- I'm all good.

Okay. So, what does methadone taste like?

Uh

A little bit of cat piss

and a lot of cough syrup.

- Yeah, but does it work?

- It works. It's gonna work.

I know my word means nothing right now,

but it will.

- Let's get a f*cking burger.

- Hell yeah.

Hey.

None of this was your fault.

You understand?

- I love you.

- I love you too.

What do you say we clean this pigsty up?

You got it, chief.

I'll be needing

my best employee back at work.

- That depends.

- Maybe a little more than weekends.

I'm listening.

We can discuss the terms of renegotiation.

- Are we negotiating? Maybe

- We are. I'm forming a union.

Good luck.

- Are you working for free now, Mom?

- You couldn't afford me.

- I can't afford you?

- No, you can't.

Let's get you another cucumber, right?

Okay.

Oh, no. This is very serious right here.

You got a screw loose here.

You know what that means,

I gotta double, triple check every screw

in every drawer throughout the house,

just to safeguard it.

That's a potential disaster if I don't.

I'll have to stay the night.

- Glen

- What?

- You gotta go.

- Go where?

Where am I going?

Don't do this.

We made a deal.

Okay.

I miss you.

I miss being here.

I miss

whatever that thing is.

I miss Kaylee.

May I sleep beside you tonight?

You gotta go.

Okay.

'Cause it makes me feel

Like I'm a man ♪

Loud and clear.

When I put a spike into my vein ♪

And I'll tell ya

Things aren't quite the same ♪

Give me a kiss.

And I feel just like Jesus' son ♪

- I love you.

- Me too.

And I guess that I just don't know ♪

And I guess ♪

- Good night, Ty.

- Good night!

I ♪

Have made ♪

The big decision ♪

I'm ♪

Gonna try ♪

To nullify my life ♪

'Cause when the blood begins to flow ♪

When it sh**t up the dropper's neck ♪

When I'm closing in on death ♪

The countless hours,

the moments of hopelessness,

were about to pay off.

Purdue was caught lying to Congress.

We were going after Friedman,

Udell, and Goldenheim.

They were facing significant jail time.

There would be no settlement.

Thousands of people

Rot in jail, you K*llers!

These fools would be our first conviction.

And the next one is Dr. Richard Sackler.

Brownlee!

You lie, you hurt people,

you let greed dominate you,

you go down and you get what you deserve.

Justice.

All rise.

A settlement has been reached.

Purdue has agreed to plead guilty

to one count

of fraudulently misbranding OxyContin.

That's bullshit!

Are you kidding me?

Raymond and Mortimer called Rudy.

This is Rudy.

Mm-hm.

Rudy called Congress.

Congress called the White House.

The White House called the DOJ.

The DOJ called Brownlee.

Brownlee.

Okay.

Yeah.

Brownlee essentially had to cut a deal.

Michael Friedman,

Howard Udell, and Paul Goldenheim

have agreed to plead guilty

to one count each

of misdemeanor misbranding.

And that's how the f*cking game is played.

Half a million people die,

and guys like Richard Sackler make

a phone call in the middle of the night

and absolutely nothing changes.

Brownlee, what is going on?

You guys can't even look me in the eye.

Look at me, g*dd*mn it!

Except for Purdue's bank account,

which only gets bigger

and bigger and bigger and bigger.

We believe that this afternoon,

justice was served.

- Julie Hall!

- Julie Hall!

- Tim Webber!

- Tim Webber!

Ginger Parker!

Today is a good day

for patients suffering from pain.

- Tim Webber!

- Tim Webber!

And for the physicians

to provide their care.

- Ginger Parker!

- Ginger Parker!

- Julie Hall!

- Julie Hall!

- Tim Webber!

- Tim Webber!

I believe that as a result

of this settlement

Purdue will now be marketing

and promoting its products

in an honest and responsible manner.

Richard Sackler, you did a good job

making all that money.

I was so f*cking stupid.

Calling it a slap on the wrist

would be an exaggeration.

Purdue was making $30 million a week.

And the worst part

the very worst part of it all

is that Purdue didn't have to stop.

They got to keep making OxyContin.

You just don't get it.

What happened to going to w*r?

This game you're playing,

the fact that you're playing it at all,

major mistake. Fight! Big mistake.

You hammered one too many abusers,

one too many children d*ed,

now you're lawyering up with the lowest,

filthiest krill specimen on earth.

Rudy Giuliani is a swamp creature.

You will be permanently covered

in a very specific flavor of sh*t

that will never wash off.

Settling is a huge mistake.

I don't care.

You'll be kicked out of the tribe.

- What tribe?

- The only tribe that matters.

New York, London, Paris. The tribe.

f*ck your tribe.

I don't care about museums

or King Tut's coffin or Fabergé eggs.

Arthur, most people have awful taste.

You evidently have impeccable taste.

I have no taste. Zero.

I care about making money and winning.

That's it.

I win, period.

By any means necessary.

f*ck your tribe.

f*ck your tribe.

After the settlement,

Richard doubled down

and the floodgates opened.

They gave Purdue

a "get out of jail free" card,

and they took full advantage,

recording record profits.

And everything we worked for,

all of our evidence,

and here's the f*cking k*ller

part of striking the deal with Purdue

meant that we had to bury it all.

It was all sealed.

All because of a phone call

in the middle of the night.

Brownlee was part of the system.

I gave him more credit than he was due.

Yeah, that was it for me

because that was my, uh

"this is how life really works" moment.

Good guys don't win.

I was done playing the game, so I got out.

I was out.

What do you want?

I came to talk to you.

- Didn't think I'd see you again.

- I know.

I don't know

that if I have anything to say to

Shawn. Can you please just sit down?

All right.

I was so angry with you.

I held judgment against you.

I never gave you the chance to, um

become somebody else besides that

pissed off 19-year-old boy.

What do you want me to say?

You said it all.

You told me that you got your GED.

And that you know how to cook now.

And that you didn't get parole,

with no explanation.

And you told me over and over

in letter after letter and

you told me all of that,

that'd you'd become a man.

I didn't have anyone else to tell.

I'm so sorry I wasn't listening.

You're my brother

and you are my only family.

I am sorry for

letting you stay here by yourself.

I thought you were bad.

It turned out I didn't know what bad was.

I know now.

And it's not you.

And I really want you

to know me too, okay?

I want you to know me.

Shut up!

Holy sh*t.

f*cking

Hey!

Hey!

f*ck.

Ma'am.

Hey.

Ma'am. Hey.

Tell me you're good.

Wake the f*ck up, guys.

Hey, wake up.

What the f*ck?

- Hello?

- Hey, babe.

- Hi.

- I just

I'm I'm just calling

to see if you want me to pick up

anything for dinner tonight.

Give you a night off.

No, it's okay, you don't have to do that.

No, I I want to.

Okay, if you want to.

I'll pick it up from From Tony's.

Can you get me

some of that stuff that I like?

- Grilled calamari coming up.

- Yeah, the calamari.

- Can you get extra horseradish?

- Okay.

Okay, yeah, let's Let's do that.

Are you okay? You sound tired.

No, no, it's just these

These neighbors

have been just up all night, so

You didn't get into a fight, did you?

Honey, I'm good.

You know I adore you, right?

I adore you.

Okay. I'll see you soon.

Okay.

Bye.

You okay?

You sound tired. You sound tired.

You didn't get into a fight, did you?

That's it.

That's, uh

all I got.

I hope that helps.

You know everything now that I know.

Thank you, Ms. Flowers.

I'm sure it will.

You've been a great help.

I sincerely wish you guys luck.

OxyContin

It is as safe as any other opioid.

OxyContin gave me my life back.

Thank you, Purdue Pharma.

Thank you, Purdue Pharma.

Hey.

None of this was your fault.

Understand?

I love you.

Here. Look at this.

I'm at an 11 right now!

Write the f*cking script!

Hey, bud. You all right?

Hey. Come on, bud. Let's go. Get up.

Ah, jeez.

Hey, man, you all right?

Hey, buddy, you good?

- Hey, come on, man, wake up.

- Is he dead?

- He ain't breathing.

- I'm gonna call 911, okay?

Yeah, just watch him for a second,

I'm gonna be right back.

Yeah, we got a 10-55 here.

A 42-year-old male, suspected overdose.

7-Eleven on Waters and Main.

Send the coroners.

I wish that I had known

In that first minute we met ♪

The unpayable debt that I owed you ♪

'Cause you'd been abused

By the bone that refused you ♪

And you hired me to make up for that ♪

Mm. Yummy.

Walking in that room

When you had tubes in your arms ♪

Those singing morphine alarms

Out of tune ♪

Ah. There she is.

Thanks.

- So? How painful was it?

- Mm.

- Well

- Well, I'm very proud of you.

Well, thanks for making me go.

- Wanna go eat? I got you.

- Yeah.

- You know how much I love you.

- Yes, I do. I do.

The owners of Purdue Pharma,

accused of fueling the opioid epidemic,

may give up ownership of the company

Multi-billion dollar plan

to settle lawsuits against Purdue Pharma.

The Sackler family

will forfeit ownership of Purdue Pharma,

turn over 30 million documents,

and pay $4.5 billion.

Congratulations, Richard.

You have successfully initiated

the destruction of the Sackler brand.

You don't have to be so dramatic about it.

A deal was reached.

You and my idiot brothers

destroyed the company

and now you owe $4.5 billion.

Yes, but it's paid out over a decade,

which means we can probably cover it

with investment returns and interest.

It will likely cost us nothing.

And we admit to no wrongdoing.

Who cares?

What?

- Who cares?

- What do you mean, who cares?

This deal gives us full immunity.

They can never go after us again.

Look at me. Look at me.

You were weak.

You conceded.

I don't give a f*ck about immunity!

You let them tear down

the name that I f*cking built!

I built it!

f*ck you! Apologize to me.

- I won't. No, I won't.

- Apologize to me!

I won't apologize.

You destroyed the name!

You destroyed the legacy!

g*dd*mn you!

You failed!

Damn you!

My legacy!

Dr. Richard, I didn't hear you come in.

Can I get you anything, sir?

No, thank you, Rosie. I'm fine.

Hello darkness, my old friend ♪

I've come to talk with you again ♪

Because a vision softly creeping ♪

Left its seeds while I was sleeping ♪

And the vision

That was planted in my brain ♪

Still remains ♪

Within the sound of silence ♪

In restless dreams I walked alone ♪

Narrow streets of cobblestone ♪

'Neath the halo of a street lamp ♪

I turned my collar

To the cold and damp ♪

When my eyes were stabbed

By the flash of a neon light ♪

That split the night ♪

And touched the sound of silence ♪

And in the naked light I saw ♪

Ten thousand people, maybe more ♪

People talking without speaking ♪

People hearing without listening ♪

People writing songs

That voices never share ♪

No one dared ♪

Disturb the sound of silence ♪

And the people bowed and prayed ♪

To the neon god they made ♪

And the sign said

"The words of the prophets ♪

Are written on the subway walls ♪

And tenement halls ♪

And whispered ♪

In the sounds of silence" ♪
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