How 'Painkiller' turned legal disclaimers into moving tributes to opioid victims

The legal disclaimers that often appear in TV shows inspired by real events tend to use the same dull, boilerplate language to notify viewers about the license the series has taken with historical fact. These carefully vetted caveats exist to prevent costly lawsuits and public backlash. They are rarely memorable — much less capable of making viewers weep.

But "Painkiller," a Netflix limited series about the opioid epidemic and the people caught up in it, turns this staid convention on its head. Each of the drama's six episodes opens with a formulaic statement: "This program is based on real events. However, certain characters, names, incidents, location and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes."

Rather than showing up as an easily ignored onscreen caption, the disclaimers are read by the bereaved parents of young people who died as a result of addiction. The parents appear on camera, clutching photos of their son or daughter. Once they dutifully recite the pro-forma legalese about the show's fictionalized elements, the parents pivot to talking about what fiction: the beloved child whose once-promising life was