Is Pain Hustlers a true story, what company is Pain Hustlers about and is it based on the book by Evan Hughes?

Pain Hustlers is the latest pharmaceutical drama coming to Netflix. Created by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker and Harry Potter director David Yates it adds to the already growing number of dramatisations on the American opioid epidemic from Disney Plus's Dopesick to Netflix's Painkiller.

It follows the story of single mother Liza who takes on a job as a pharma sales rep to provide a better life for her family and cover her daughter's rising healthcare costs. However when the reality of her company's practises start to surface she begins to question the choices she's made.

Pain Hustlers stars Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) Chris Evans (Captain America) and Andy Garcia (The Untouchables). So, what is Pain Hustlers really about, is it a true story and is it based on the book by Evan Hughes? Here's everything you need to know about the Netflix film.

What is Pain Hustlers about?

Pain Hustlers follows the story of single mom Liza, played by Emily Blunt who has just lost her job and is struggling to cover the costs of her daughter's rising medical bills. She finds herself landing a position as a pharma sales rep and things turn around financially for her and her family, but she starts to realise there is dire consequences to her success.

Here is the short synopsis of Pain Hustlers from Netflix: "Upon losing her job, a blue-collar woman struggling to raise her daughter takes a job at a failing pharmaceutical start-up, only to get involved in a dangerous racketeering scheme."

Is Pain Hustlers based on a true story?

Pain Hustlers is a fictional film inspired by the real life events of the American opioid epidemic. The story comes from Evan Hughes' New York Times article of the same name and is adapted from his 2022 book The Hard Sell.

In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Yates addressed the true story behind Pain Hustlers. He explained: "I would describe it more inspired by a true story. I mean-- do a literal translation of Insys' story was challenging because there were so many multiple points of view. So we used it as a starting point to inspire the creation of Liza. You know, Liza is based on several people and not exclusively related to any one of them. And also, there's a fictional element to her, as well."

What company is Pain Hustlers about?

Pain Hustlers tells the story of a fictional company called Zanna, which is based on Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company that produced an opioid painkiller spray called Subsys, with the main ingredient being the opioid fentanyl.

The company was involved in an elaborate racketeering scheme which bribed doctors to prescribe their highly addictive opioid medication. In 2019, John Kapoor, the billionaire founder and former chairman of Insys Therapeutics was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine for his role in the fraud and bribery scheme. Four other company executives were found guilty of racketeering conspiracy. Insys Therapeutics filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

Their opioid medications left destruction on their wake, with ABC News reporting in 2019 that more than 7,000 deaths had been reported involving people taking Subsys. According to the CDC in 2021 alone 106,699 people died in America due to an opioid related drug overdose.

Is Pain Hustlers based on the book by Evan Hughes?

Pain Hustlers is based on the article of the same name and adapted from the 2022 book called The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup by New York Times journalist Evan Hughes. Whilst the characters involved are fictional, the story is based on the very real events first reported by Hughes in the wake of the American opioid crisis.

When can I watch Pain Hustlers on Netflix?

Pain Hustlers is available to watch on Netflix from Friday October 27.