# El marginal (2016)

> An undercover ex-cop embeds himself in an Argentine prison among the kidnappers of a judge's daughter.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/59125

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 43
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Sebastián Ortega, Adrián Caetano
- Network: Televisión Pública Argentina, Netflix
- Cast: Esteban Lamothe, Martina Gusmán, Claudio Rissi, Nicolás Furtado, Gerardo Romano, Paula Cancio, Carlos Portaluppi, Juan Minujín
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5820976/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: gritty, tense, bleak, claustrophobic, morally ambiguous

## What critics say

Viewers broadly rate El marginal as a gripping, tense prison thriller with a strong performance-driven cast, with the later seasons rated highly by audiences.

## Synopsis

El marginal (2016-2022) is an Argentine prison crime drama series created by Sebastián Ortega and Adrián Caetano, produced by Underground Producciones and broadcast on Televisión Pública Argentina and Netflix. The story follows an ex-cop who enters a prison under a false identity, determined to infiltrate a group of inmates who have kidnapped the teenage daughter of an important national judge. Esteban Lamothe plays Patricio, known as Doc, one of the central prisoners, while Martina Gusmán plays Emma and Gerardo Romano plays Antín, both tied to the tangled web of power beyond the walls. The engine of the show is the constant pressure of survival and deception: every alliance is provisional, every favor carries a price, and every new inmate may be an informant. Its episodes are built from cell block negotiations, rival factions, and the slow leaking of secrets between prison and the outside world. Across five seasons it forms one continuing serialized story, with a gritty and tense register, heavy with dread, moral ambiguity and bleak realism. Set in contemporary Argentina, it places viewers inside an overcrowded penal institution where corruption and violence are routine. Fans of Oz and Narcos will find resonance in its unflinching look at criminal hierarchies and compromised authority.

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