Glen Kryger's Story in Netflix's 'Painkiller' Is Devastatingly True to Life
This story contains spoilers for Painkiller.
Painkiller, Netflix's latest six-episode series on the opioid epidemic, straddles this complicated line between truth and fiction. Based on the book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier—and a New Yorker profile on the Sackler family—Painkiller tells the story of six people affected by the crisis. One of these characters is Glen Kryger (Taylor Kitsch), a car mechanic who becomes addicted to the drug after hurting his back on the job.
While the true events of the opioid epidemic are very real, Glen is an entirely fictional character. Per Netflix's official description, the series is merely a "fictionalized retelling of events." So, even though Glen Kryger's story isn't based on a real person, many people in the United States share a similar story—and Painkiller dramatizes it all for television. "When people say, Is Glen a composite character? I say, Kind of yes and no," executive producer Pete Berg told Rotten Tomatoes. "I’ve known Glens. I’m sure you’ve known Glens or if you don’t know them personally, you know someone that does."
As one might expect, Glen Kryger's story is incredibly heartbreaking. After developing an addiction to painkillers, he fractures his relationship with his family, his stepson, and even his wife. After he agrees to give up the drugs, he eventually heals and reconciles with his loved ones—but one eventful relapse is the end for Kryger. He stumbles upon a bag of OxyContin on the street and snorts the crushed-up pills in his car. Though someone sees him struggling and rushes toward the car, his heartbeat slows and the police later call it in as a suspected overdose.
Kitsch, the actor who plays Kryger, told Esquire in 2022 that he shared a personal connection to the character. According to the actor, he once "went to hell and back seventeen times" with someone who struggled with addiction. "Everything we had gone through was still right there," he said, adding that Painkiller is the "most fulfilling job I’ve ever done."
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