Narcos: Mexico

In the 1980s setting of Narcos: Mexico, the Guadalajara Cartel rises from local traffickers to a powerful syndicate that reshapes the drug trade. The story follows American DEA agent Walt Breslin, who tries to map and contain a sprawling network of smugglers, corrupt officials, and violent enforcers. As rival leaders jockey for control, personal ambition and political pressure complicate enforcement efforts. The series balances intense action with quieter scenes of negotiation, betrayal, and strategy, showing how law enforcement and cartels change each other without revealing major plot twists or final outcomes.

Created by Chris Brancato, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, the show premiered on Netflix in 2018 as a companion to the original Narcos. It stars Scoot McNairy as Walt Breslin, José María Yázpik as Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Alejandro Edda as Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Luis Gerardo Méndez as Victor Tapia, and Matt Letscher as James "Jaime" Kuykendall.

The series earned attention from television awards bodies, picking up nominations across acting and technical categories and generating industry recognition for its ensemble work and production values. Critics and peers noted strong performances from the cast and the show's period detail in submissions and longlists.

Narcos: Mexico influenced how many viewers think about the 1980s drug wars, bringing lesser known figures and regional dynamics into popular discussion. Its depiction of characters like the early El Chapo and Amado Carrillo Fuentes fed into broader pop culture portrayals of cartel leaders, and it sparked conversations about historical accuracy, the glamorization of crime, and the human costs of the trade.

Critics generally rated the show positively, reflected in a vote average of 7.922 out of 10 from 1,444 votes. Reviewers praised the acting, the pacing, and the textured atmosphere, while noting recurring themes of corruption, power, and the uneasy ties between U.S. policy and Mexican institutions. The tone stays gritty and methodical, focusing more on systemic forces than on simple moral labels.