Was shannon schaefer real

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Home » News. The controversial new limited series Painkiller takes a dramatic look at an incredible situation. The show explains the situation that arose in the US that allegedly brought about an opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma is at the heart of the story. The company run by Richard Sackler , played in the series by Matthew Broderick, became hugely successful producing OxyContin, the drug that so many people would become addicted to. The show does everything that it can to present the facts behind the story, but the production does admit that names, locations, and certain incidents may have been changed. The show has led fans to wonder about the nature of the characters that are on screen, and as you watch, you do find yourself wondering about who is real, and who is fictionalized.

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 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. 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 Purdue used to increase sales of OxyContin, and to put a human face on Purdue's profit-driven motivations. Her story plays out very closely to real life: Purdue 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.

Her job makes her exceptionally successful and wealthy, but she gradually realizes the company she works for is harming people. The Today Show. Jodie Turner-Smith doesn't think Joshua Jackson relationship is a 'failure' after fil….

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.

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. 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. A fresh recruit from college, Shannon is naive and impressionable; she masters manipulation tactics quickly when Britt Dina Shihabi , a more experienced rep, mentors her. Still, Shannon is removed enough to clock when something feels unethical. The rest of her colleagues are in too deep. A week later, the role was hers. That phone call was in June of , about two months before the shoot.

Was shannon schaefer real

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. One part of the show focuses on the story of Shannon Schaeffer. She is a young college student who wants to come out of poverty. She discovers that being a Pharma sales rep can bring her all the money she needs, bringing her to Purdue. She starts selling OxyContin and reaps the benefits but soon realizes she works for the bad guys. Because the show is based on a true story, you might want to know if Shannon Schaeffer is also based on a real person. The role of the sales representatives in marketing and increasing the sales of OxyContin was brought to light in the depositions held during the trials that focused on the hundreds of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma. They wrote down the said concerns in the memos, which were forwarded to their bosses. However, instead of resolving these concerns, the salespeople were encouraged to shrug them off.

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The Today Show. Philip Ellis. All rights reserved. The last moment Shannon is featured in the series is a glimpse of her reaction to Purdue Pharma settling out of court. Netflix John Ales as Dr. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. View full post on Youtube. She appears to be disengaged in the news, and she isn't shown again in the series. Previous Article View all Next Article.

The show tells the true story of Purdue Pharma, the company responsible for manufacturing and selling the highly-addictive drug OxyContin, which in turn led to a rise in opioid use and addiction in the States. While the key events are true, and the Sacklers were indeed the family behind the company, many of the characters are fictionalised composites representing people whose lives were affected by the opioid crisis. The Netflix show is inspired by a book of the same name by New York Times reporter Barry Meir, who wrote extensively on the opioid crisis and won a Pulitzer Prize for doing so.

Lulu Wang Explains the Expats Finale. 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. He represents the more than , people estimated to have died over the past two decades from overdoses involving prescription painkillers like OxyContin. Instead of focusing on simply widespread prescriptions of OxyContin, Shannon's character was told to convince doctors to prescribe higher doses, which yield higher payouts from insurance companies. The controversial new limited series Painkiller takes a dramatic look at an incredible situation. Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express? However, certain characters, names, incidents, locations and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes. He was a wonderful kid. But in a sense, she is. Snow, heat, fires and tornadoes: Weather across US this week expected to bring extrem…. It is safe to say that the Shannon Schaeffer character is not based on any one person but is instead an amalgamation of several sales reps that worked for Purdue Pharma, that may have been involved in pushing the drugs to doctors, and their patients.