All three series of Narcos, the gritty crime drama chronicling the life of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, are now available to stream on Netflix. The show, which first premiered in 2015, has been hailed as one of the greatest TV programmes ever made.
Tailor-made for fans of hard-hitting gangster dramas such as The Sopranos or The Wire, Narcos follows Escobar, who headed up the Medellin cartel and was regarded as one of the most feared narcoterrorists on the planet. He amassed a billion-dollar fortune through the production and distribution of drugs across the globe before being shot dead by police during a gunfight as they attempted to apprehend him in 1993. He was just 44.
Three Series of Escobar's Rise and Fall
Series One of Narcos follows Escobar's dealings with fellow drug lords and the authorities throughout the 1970s, when he first embarked on the criminal path that would transform him into one of the world's most notorious figures. Despite his arrest, the first series ends with his escape from prison, reports Wales Online.
Series Two charts his later life, while Series Three explores the fate of his cartel and vast drug empire in the wake of his death. Following the release of the third and final Escobar series in 2017, those behind the critically and commercially acclaimed show opted to shift their focus elsewhere. The fourth series was rebranded Narcos: Mexico and concentrated on the Mexican cartels of the 1980s.
Star-Studded Cast and Critical Acclaim
Starring Wagner Moura as Escobar himself, alongside Hollywood icon Pedro Pascal in one of his earlier roles as DEA agent Javier Pena, Narcos earned nominations for several prestigious awards, including Golden Globes and BAFTAs. Both fans and critics praised the original Narcos as a masterpiece of television, and it holds an impressive 93 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
One critic said: "The acting, as usual, is exceptional here, though Escobar's fall from grace, and the accompanying bodycount, makes for season so violent that it tends to numb, and drag, at times."
Another added: "The performances by Moura, Pascal and everyone else are still some of the best seen on television right now with Moura taking the cake again in the last three episodes."
Meanwhile a third wrote: "This remains a slick, stylish delight -- a romp that is the best kind of addictive."
Fan Reactions
Viewers also showered praise on the gritty programme. One fan said: "This season was unique because it showed the death of Pablo Escobar. The whole season was based on the fact that how can a powerful and strong person like Pablo Escobar can be killed."
Another added: "Season 2 managed to be even better than Season 1 because we got to a critical point in Pablo Escobar's life. We were shown in full display of what a monster can do when he feels desperate and out of options."
Narcos is streaming now on Netflix.
