El Chapo

A look at the life of notorious drug kingpin, El Chapo, from his early days in the 1980s working for the Guadalajara Cartel, to his rise to power of during the '90s and his ultimate downfall in 2016.

El Chapo (2017-2018) is a Spanish language crime drama series created by Daniel Posada, Silvana Aguirre Zegarra, Carlos Contreras, Ernesto Contreras and José Manuel Cravioto for Univision. Marco de la O plays Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the cartel figure whose ambition drives the story, alongside Humberto Busto as Don Sol, Hernán Romo as Benjamin Avendaño and Valentina Acosta as Alejandra, each tied to his shifting alliances and rivalries. Across three seasons and thirty-two episodes, the series follows the engine of a drug trade built on smuggling routes, bribed officials, and armed turf wars, with each episode weaving business deals, betrayals, and violent reprisals into a single continuing arc. Set in Mexico from the 1980s through the 1990s and into the 2010s, the show moves from Guadalajara's early cartel days to the rise of a kingpin who builds an empire across the border. The tone is gritty and intense, with a sober, tense atmosphere that treats the cartel world as both glamorous and brutal. Its shape is a serialized prestige crime biography, a tradition that fans of Narcos, Narcos: Mexico and Breaking Bad will find resonance with, given its drug trade power politics and its look at how ambition reshapes loyalty.

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its dramatic portrayal of cartel power and its lead performance as the drug lord.

• Narcosdrug cartel rise and fall, crime biography, serialized kingpin story
• Narcos: Mexicocrime biography of a real drug kingpin, prestige crime drama tone
• Breaking Baddrug trade crime drama with rise-to-power arc and violent cartel world

Created by

Daniel Posada, Silvana Aguirre Zegarra, Carlos Contreras, Ernesto Contreras, José Manuel Cravioto

Release Date

2017-04-23

Episode runtime

55 min

Rating

7.8 / 10 (1684)

What is El Chapo about?

A dramatized crime biography following Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman from his early cartel days in 1980s Guadalajara to his rise and downfall.

What is El Chapo like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of El Chapo as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is El Chapo violent?

Yes. Ember rates the violence in El Chapo as brutal.

What did critics think of El Chapo?

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its dramatic portrayal of cartel power and its lead performance as the drug lord.

Which shows are like El Chapo?

Shows with a similar feel include Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, and Breaking Bad.

How long is El Chapo?

El Chapo: 3 seasons, 32 episodes.

Is El Chapo still running?

No, El Chapo has ended.

Where can I watch El Chapo?

In United States, El Chapo streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads, REELZ+ Amazon Channel.