American Pain, from Academy Award-nominated Motto Pictures and Emmy® Award-winning director Darren Foster, will premiere for television on Sunday, February 5 @ 9PM ET/PT on CNN. Heralded as “a bruising and vital piece of film journalism” and “akin to Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street,” American Pain had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and traces the rise and fall of Floridians Chris and Jeff George, identical twins who trafficked more than $500 million in opioid pills in the United States.
“American Pain is the story of the greatest drug racket to hit the Sunshine State since the cocaine cowboys of the 1980s,” said Darren Foster, director of American Pain. “The George brothers were the biggest players among a colorful cast of characters who made millions during Florida’s pill mill boom. Together with their trusty suppliers – a pharmaceutical industry pumping out billions of powerful and addictive pills – they fueled the worst drug epidemic in American history.”
In just a few short years of operation, the Georges created one of the largest opioid pill mill empires in the nation, attracting clients from around the country. Weaving together hundreds of hours of FBI wiretap recordings, undercover videos, and exclusive jailhouse interviews with the twins themselves, this fast-paced thriller traces the Georges’ rise and fall, corruption and violence, which ultimately led to the ruin of scores of lives, including their own.
“The on-going opioid epidemic is at the forefront of our national conversation on public health,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide. “Through Darren’s carefully-researched and compelling film, it is urgent that we amplify this important issue that continues to impact Americans across the country.”
American Pain is produced by Motto Pictures, Muck Media, and Fishbowl Films for CNN Films and HBO Max, in association with TIME Studios. Academy Award-nominated, Emmy® Award-winning producers Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, and Carolyn Hepburn of Motto Pictures are producers, alongside Diane Becker of Fishbowl Films. Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton of CNN Films are executive producers.
American Pain will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com and CNN OTT and mobile apps, or CNNgo where available. The film will be available On Demand beginning Monday, February 6, to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
