OxyContin and the story behind America's 'most evil' family 

Members of the Sackler family are estimated to have made more than $10bn from the drug, a high-strength painkiller that arguably fuelled the opioid epidemic, responsible for the deaths of more than half a million Americans over two decades. New drama 'Dopesick' aims to give them 'the trial that they never got'

'Dopesick': 'My goal with this show is to give Purdue and the Sacklers the trial that they never got,” says Danny Strong, executive producer and writer.' Picture: PA Photo/Hulu/Gene Page

They have been described as the most evil family in America — not by hyperbolic headline writers or disgruntled employees, but by members of the United States Congress.

The Sacklers owned and ran Purdue Pharma, the company that sold OxyContin, a high-strength painkiller that arguably fuelled the opioid epidemic, responsible for the deaths of more than half a million Americans over two decades.