El Chapo

I was fascinated with this series and can't wait for the next one. There is definitely room for this story to continue. I think Narcos creates a great background. Wikipedia says the real El Chapo carries the same notoriety as Al Capone, is listed on the Fortune 500 list, and matched the wealth of Pablo Escobar. The series seems to have only started this story and I'm ready for it to continue. Disclaimer- as noted above, the series does depict him as a scary criminal. Not a hero in any way. Yet I admit to being fascinated by the story.

I watched it after Narcos, like most people apparently did, and i was caught by surprised by how actually good this show is!! The acting is good, the pacing is good, the plot is good. It's more realistical than Narcos (comparatively speaking), way more gritty and less glamour. The first 2 seasons are especially good ( El Cano is a very good villain). Don Sol's storyline gets a little trite in season 3 but i absolutely recommend this show!

8/10...seems pretty high, doesn't it? For a show that has countless similarities to Narcos, is based on an already told take, and on a platform that isn't new. Well, I'll tell you why, it is because this IS new, for all of Latin America THIS is totally new!

Prior to this Univision has been known for absolutely terrible, terrible programming and this skyrockets them into a whole new nexus of quality programming. As far as the Latin America television options, this is an absolute home run! I couldn't have been more surprised and happy with what they have put out. Several reasons.

So, the show is MUCH better if you know your history surrounding the person, the country, and the drug trade. They changed basically everyone's name except for El Chapo, I am sure to protect themselves from the very real violence they might suffer if they offended the wrong people with their depictions of certain characters.

I.E. The families of "Benjamin and Ramon Arellano Félix" might not like them being depicted as the murderous bastards that they were, so they make their debut as the "Avendaño Brothers" instead. In that respect that have done an incredible job re-naming the characters but still keeping the authenticity of who they are/were.

Also, something that really hasn't been said in anyone's review. They have done an UNBELIEVABLE job with the character design, makeup, wardrobe(especially), and period appropriate set design. The outfits you see these characters wearing are pulled from actual outfits the real people wore, it is incredibly authentic, shockingly so! GOOGLE Ramon Arellano Félix and go to images, you will see pictures of him wearing the shirt they put him in when Do Chapo first goes to their club at the beginning of the series. Just amazing that they payed that kind of attention to detail.

I don't think the people that are bashing the show quite understand the level of history and authenticity that this show has, in that respect, it is 1 and 1 with Narcos. It follows a historical timeline perfectly and for those that are complaining about the bad quality English dubbing.....ALL DUBBING IS BAD QUALITY, OF COURSE THE MOUTHS DON'T MATCH THE WORDS.....HAHAHA WHAT?!?! (Sorry, I was shocked someone actually said that.)

Anyways, watch the show in Spanish. Take the time to read the subtitles and simply enjoy an incredibly authentic depiction of the most notorious criminals on the planet.

First of all, I have a lot of doubts when I'm starting to see a TV show and the show have a rating below 8.0 on IMDb. So, I take a chance with these one at 7.9. . . I have a lot of doubts because these show was produced by Univision in association with Netflix, and as Latin guy that love products of great quality, Univision is the last company I expect good productions or shows. They always do a bad job bringing a touch of reality and suspense in the 99% of shows they produce related with drug kingpins. . .I was expecting a lot of blood and a lot of violence in the gruesome way and I finish disappointed when I see the words "Univision", I knew in that moment that I have to change my view of what I will see in "El Chapo". So, if you read this, you need to change the mentality of expecting a lot of blood, violence, gunshots, abductions, etc; because these show is not that. It's more like a political thriller and the government corruption at all the levels. It's not as good as I expected because the story of "El Chapo" have a lot of moments that presented in the right way can make an understatement, but the producers decided to put these story in an ambiguous way. Still, is the best "El Chapo" TV show/movie to these date, but I think they could do a better job.

This is sort of like the Mexican equivalent of Narcos, really enjoyed this series - - I thought the acting was great and and all in all was done very stylishly - well worth a watch.

I hope more series are to follow.. Don't be put off by the negative review/s try it and make up your own mind - so glad i watched it all!