# El Candidato (2020)

> A rookie CIA operative teams with a legendary agent to take down Mexico's most brilliant narco while her former boyfriend, the city's mayor, stands in the way.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/88693

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 10
- Episode runtime: 53 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, action, thriller
- Created by: Peter Blake
- Network: Prime Video
- Cast: James Purefoy, Eréndira Ibarra, José María de Tavira, Joaquín Cosío, Esmeralda Pimentel, Bret Harrison, Gerardo Taracena, Carmen Beato
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10171930/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: tense, paranoid, gritty, propulsive

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its high-stakes action and political intrigue.

## Synopsis

El Candidato (2020) is a Mexican television action thriller series created by Peter Blake and released on Prime Video. Rookie CIA field operative Isabel Alfaro (Eréndira Ibarra) is paired with the legendary agent Wayne Addison (James Purefoy), a veteran with his own agenda, as they hunt Rafael Bautista (Joaquín Cosío), a vicious and brilliant narcotrafficker described as Mexico's most dangerous kingpin. Her investigation pulls her into a dangerous collision with Eduardo Yzaguirre (José María de Tavira), her former boyfriend, who is now the mayor of Mexico City and publicly the cleanest and most inspirational politician in the country. Each episode builds tension through surveillance, double dealing, and the shifting loyalties of people who know how to hide. The single season of ten roughly fifty-minute episodes runs as one continuing story, with each hour adding a layer to the conflict between operatives and the political class they must trust. Set in contemporary Mexico City and the cartel strongholds around it, the series holds a gritty, paranoid register, with violence and moral compromise never far from view. Fans of Narcos, Alias and Gomorra will find resonance in its blend of espionage, cartel warfare and political corruption.

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