# Narcos: Mexico (2018)

> An American DEA agent is drawn into the rise of Mexico's Guadalajara Cartel in 1980s Mexico, where pursuing powerful narcos proves dangerous.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/69342

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 30
- Episode runtime: 62 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Diego Luna, José María Yázpik, Michael Peña, Alejandro Edda, Fernanda Urrejola, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Matt Letscher, Gorka Lasaosa
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8714904/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: tense, brooding, gritty, harrowing

## What critics say

Audiences broadly acclaim the series as a gripping, historically grounded account of the rise of Mexico's first cartel, with strong performances carrying its tense crime storytelling.

## Synopsis

Narcos: Mexico (2018-2021) is a Netflix crime drama series created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, a three-season serialized dramatization of real events. American DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Michael Peña) and Mexican trafficker Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna) anchor a story set in 1980s Mexico, where the Guadalajara Cartel takes shape as a criminal empire. Diego Luna's Félix Gallardo wants to build a business that outlasts his rivals, while the agents pursuing him must contend with corrupt officials, violent rivals, and their own institutional limits. Each season builds on the last, with long serialized arcs following negotiations, betrayals, and shifting alliances across the border. Fans of The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and Traffic will find resonance in its gritty, politically tense atmosphere, its moral compromises, and its unflinching look at how cocaine money reshapes a nation. The tone is tense and brooding, with moments of dark cruelty and an unsentimental sense of history, all grounded in the real Mexican drug war era.

## Shows like Narcos: Mexico

- [The Cartel (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/6940)
- [Bloque de búsqueda (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/86198)
- [Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/39529)
- [El Chema (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/60295)
- [El Señor de los Cielos (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/40840)
- [The Dandy (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/57118)
- [En la Boca del Lobo (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/77788)
- [El Candidato (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/88693)
- [Narcos (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/56255)
- [El Chapo (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/62359)

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