The Netflix Crime Thriller Series Spinoff Better Than The Original
Narcos: Mexico is a Netflix streaming series created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. The crime drama series premiered to subscribers of the streaming channel on November 16th, 2018.
Originally, the show was meant to be the fourth season of its parent series Narcos, but ultimately, Narcos: Mexico was developed as a companion series instead.
Narcos: Mexico Vs. Narcos
Where Narcos centered more around the establishment and development of Colombia’s illegal drug trade and the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar, Narcos: Mexico focused more on the development of the Mexican drug trade.
Narcos: Mexico is something of a prequel to its parent series, as it follows the beginning of the first Mexican drug cartel and how those men moved from marijuana to cocaine and into Columbia.
It also covers the very beginning of the U.S. government agency meant to keep tabs on all of the drug activity, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency).
Mexican Drug Trade
Whether you’re a fan of the show, or you’ve never seen an episode in your life, it’s not difficult to see why the world of Narcos is intriguing.
Narcos: Mexico wastes no time revealing the opposing forces in the series and setting the stage for a clear and inescapable clash.
The show is set in the late 70s early 80s when the Mexican drug trade was still very disorganized and chaotic.
Territories were small and broken up into numerous areas, most of which were constantly battling with one another over one thing or the other.
Diego Luna Is Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo
If they weren’t caught up in a territory battle with another dealer, they were dealing with the government coming in to burn their fields as a show of power.
Diego Luna’s character Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo is just an underling to a territory boss at the start of Narcos: Mexico, but he quickly sees an opportunity for advancement.
He has an eye for business, and he wants to turn drug-making and drug-running into an organized operation rather than a chaotic race to the top.
Michael Pena Is Kiki Camerena
The nemesis of Felix is Kiki Camerena (played by Michael Pena). Kiki is a ferocious and stubborn DEA agent who recently relocated his family to Guadalajara from California to advance his career.
When Camerena finds that his new post is lacking in funds and gumption, he lights a proverbial fire under his coworkers and soon becomes the leader of a top-notch, cartel-battling task force.
Similar To The Wire?
Narcos: Mexico is similar to The Wire in the way that it explores both sides of the story; the criminal enterprises and the law enforcement agencies that chase down those criminals.
Felix is similar to Stringer Bell who holds business as the ultimate manner of upholding a stable drug manufacturing operation. Kiki is more like Jimmy McNulty (but sober) in the way that he’s never really off duty and he becomes supremely obsessed with taking down Felix.
Narcos: Mexico Reception
Narcos: Mexico was well received by critics and audiences from the very beginning. The show’s first season holds a 90 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The second season holds an 81 percent approval rating, and the third season took the series out with a bang and a 100 percent approval rating on the Tomatometer.
Overall, if you’re into crime dramas, you don’t want to miss out on Narcos: Mexico. All three seasons are currently streaming on Netflix for those with a subscription, so you can binge the action whenever you feel the need.
