Was shannon schaefer real

Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. But in a sense, she is.

Painkiller , a Netflix drama out Aug. At the bottom, Edie Flowers, a tenacious investigator for the U. He eventually went to work for Purdue. Meier is credited as a consulting producer on the show, and Keefe as an executive producer. Showrunners Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster optioned the book around the same time that executive producer Alex Gibney optioned the article, and they joined forces to create one project. I realized that this opioid crisis I've been hearing so much about was not just a crisis, it was really a crime.

Was shannon schaefer real

Netflix's Painkille r is the latest drama series to explore the impact of the opioid crisis in the United States, following Dopesick on Hulu. Based on the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier and the New Yorker article 'The Family That Built an Empire of Pain,' it focuses specifically on the Sacklers, the real-life dynasty behind Pardue Pharma , the company that was largely responsible for a rise in doctors prescribing the highly addictive OxyContin. The show tackles the crisis from multiple angles, following a wide-ranging ensemble cast of characters, including Uzo Aduba as attorney Edie Flowers, whose attempts to build a case against the Sackler family and Pardue Pharma form the narrative backbone of the series. One storyline involves Shannon Schaeffer, a college graduate played by West Duchovny who takes a sales representative job at Pardue and is initially excited by the prospect of making good money and starting a high-powered career. Shannon's role within the company is to encourage doctors to prescribe higher doses of OxyContin to patients while downplaying the risk of addiction, in order to secure higher payouts from insurance companies. At the beginning, she is enthusiastic about the work, but over the six episodes of Painkiller , Shannon grapples with the morality of the harm she has caused. After taking OxyContin herself for the first time and walking into a swimming pool, Shannon comes to the realization that she needs to get out of Pardue and make amends, and her storyline ends with her aiding the U. Attorney's office in their investigation. Yes and no. Each episode of the show opens with the disclaimer that "certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes," and while certain figures in Painkiller are transparently based on real people, such as Matthew Broderick's Richard Sackler, others are composite characters inspired by multiple individuals. Shannon Schaeffer is one such character, who was written into the show to illustrate the methods Pardue used to increase sales of OxyContin, and to put a human face on Pardue's profit-driven motivations. Her story plays out very closely to real life: Pardue Pharma sales reps were highly incentivized, and those who successfully convinced doctors to prescribe higher milligram doses of OxyContin received bonuses sometimes outweighing their yearly salary. Shannon specifically may not have ever existed, but plenty of people like her did. Philip Ellis. August 18, at PM.

Painkiller includes very real events and characters, such as Richard Sackler and Curtis Wright, who were true players in the onset of the opioid crisis. When to Catch New Episodes of Expats.

Netflix's Painkille r is the latest drama series to explore the impact of the opioid crisis in the United States, following Dopesick on Hulu. Based on the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier and the New Yorker article 'The Family That Built an Empire of Pain,' it focuses specifically on the Sacklers, the real-life dynasty behind Purdue Pharma , the company that was largely responsible for a rise in doctors prescribing the highly addictive OxyContin. The show tackles the crisis from multiple angles, following a wide-ranging ensemble cast of characters, including Uzo Aduba as attorney Edie Flowers, whose attempts to build a case against the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma form the narrative backbone of the series. One storyline involves Shannon Schaeffer, a college graduate played by West Duchovny who takes a sales representative job at Purdue and is initially excited by the prospect of making good money and starting a high-powered career. Shannon's role within the company is to encourage doctors to prescribe higher doses of OxyContin to patients while downplaying the risk of addiction, in order to secure higher payouts from insurance companies. At the beginning, she is enthusiastic about the work, but over the six episodes of Painkiller , Shannon grapples with the morality of the harm she has caused. After taking OxyContin herself for the first time and walking into a swimming pool, Shannon comes to the realization that she needs to get out of Purdue and make amends, and her storyline ends with her aiding the U.

Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Why Trust Us? Netflix's Painkiller is topping the streamer's charts right now, and for good reason: The six-episode series tells the chilling story of the early opioid crisis in the United States, and the lives it has destroyed along the way. The company became wildly successful for peddling the drug OxyContin, which was widely blamed for the ongoing opioid addiction crisis across the country. While some of the characters and details are fictionalized, each person featured in Painkiller is based on very real events and people. Each episode opens with the disclaimer: "This program is based on real events.

Was shannon schaefer real

The latest scripted true-crime series has arrived, offering a fictionalized retelling of the opioid epidemic from top to bottom. The six-episode show follows Purdue Pharma and the development and release of the drug OxyContin, which was followed by a massive increase in the use and abuse of opioid drugs. In addition to depicting major moments in the drug's timeline, the series also addresses the public health crisis by exploring the victims and families who were devastated by the epidemic, the middlemen who connected Purdue Pharma to doctors, and the investigators working to get justice against the billionaire family behind the company.

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Her job makes her exceptionally successful and wealthy, but she gradually realizes the company she works for is harming people. Watch Next. Her actions on the show may represent the ambitions of sales reps that can make huge bonuses if they reach a certain level of sales, and we can only assume that the financial remuneration for hitting their targets made it morally worthwhile to them. He eventually went to work for Purdue. Why Trust Us? Her role of Shannon Schaeffer, an eager young sales rep for Purdue Pharma, is fictionalized but based on the real experiences of representatives who sold OxyContin to doctors. Is Shannon Schaeffer in 'Painkiller' Real? They were like, did not see it coming. But a play she did before college put her onto the whole acting thing. The company became wildly successful for peddling the drug OxyContin, which was widely blamed for the ongoing opioid addiction crisis across the country.

From the people in charge of the company to those who suffer from the unregulated availability of OxyContin, the show takes us through every aspect of the crisis, focusing on its impact on different sections of society.

Throughout the six episode series, Shannon struggles with the moral dilemma she is facing as a Purdue Pharma employee. Shannon's character is an amalgamation of many people who worked as sales representatives for Purdue Pharma. Each episode opens with the disclaimer: "This program is based on real events. Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. Sales representatives were incentivized to encourage higher doses for patients through bonuses. However, certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes. In one of the final episodes of Painkiller , Shannon does OxyContin, and ends up walking straight into a swimming pool, per Netflix. Court documents released in , per Knox News , revealed that one employee's bonuses equated more than their yearly salary in Her job makes her exceptionally successful and wealthy, but she gradually realizes the company she works for is harming people. While the vast majority of the limited series draws directly from historical events, most of its main characters—Edie, Glen, Shannon, and Britt—are fictional, although the people they stand for are certainly not. Home » News.