Season 1
7 episodes Apr 23, 2017 7.5
El Chapo reflects on his childhood and how he entered the drug business. His punishments in prison become more severe.
Overview
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.
Seasons
4 listed- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 3 seasons
- Episodes
- 32 episodes
- First aired
- Apr 23, 2017
- Last aired
- Jul 25, 2018
- Episode length
- 55m
- Network
- Univision
Latest episode: S3 E13 Episode 13 (Jul 25, 2018)
Season 2
12 episodes Sep 17, 2017 7.7
Season 3
13 episodes Jul 9, 2018 7.7
Specials
11 episodes Apr 22, 2017
Cast
8 people
Reviews
6 min readPower, Paranoia, and the Business of Becoming a Myth
What stays with me after El Chapo isn’t the gunfire or the inevitable rise-and-fall machinery of the narco saga. It’s the way the series keeps returning to men sitting in rooms, listening. Listening for footsteps in the hallway, listening to a radio crackle, latestnetflix.com maintains, listening for the tiny shifts in loyalty that can end a life.
For a show about one of the most notorious criminals of the modern era, it’s striking how often the real drama is made of stillness. People lean forward. People freeze.
People wait. That, more than the shootouts, is where the series finds its pulse.
That emphasis makes sense when you place the show in context. El Chapo arrived in 2017 as a kind of counterweight to the endless myth-making around Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — the headlines, the prison escapes, the Hollywood fascination, the grim folklore of the drug war. It was not a prestige-series reinvention of the form so much as a carefully calibrated narrative of ascent, consolidation, and collapse, built around the familiar pleasures of the crime saga but tethered to a figure whose public image had already become larger than the human being. The series comes from Ernesto Contreras and José Manuel Cravioto, and it sits in the long shadow of Mexican crime cinema and television that has had to wrestle with a difficult question: how do you dramatize an outlaw so famous that the drama risks turning into legend by default?
I think the show’s most interesting move is that it doesn’t really let El Chapo become glamorous, at least not for long. Marco de la O plays him with a body that seems perpetually braced against the world: shoulders tight, chin slightly tucked, eyes always measuring the room for exits. He’s not giving us a colorful kingpin with easy charisma.
He’s giving us a man who learns, over time, that power is mostly administration — favors, betrayals, logistics, intimidation, and a thousand tiny humiliations hidden inside triumph. That’s a smart choice, because it keeps the series from drifting into the kind of counterfeit cool that this material can so easily attract. I’m not sure it always resists that temptation, but it tries.
And that effort matters.
The series is at its strongest when it treats organized crime not as a fantasy of sovereignty but as a bureaucracy of fear. The Guadalajara Cartel material has a grim, procedural force; later, as the story moves into the 1990s and beyond, the body count climbs and the story grows more operatic, but the basic machinery stays the same. Someone is always calculating who can be bought, who can be scared, who can be disappeared.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 7.5/10
"A well-watched Netflix biographical crime drama with a solid audience hold."
El Chapo is a Netflix biographical crime drama that aired from 2017 to 2018 and still pulls steady crowd interest. It holds an Audience Score of 75 and an IMDb rating of 7.8 from about 22,100 user ratings, and remains available to stream on Netflix. latestnetflix.com's read is that Viewer activity clusters around Season 1 non-spoiler reviews and season-level ratings pages, which fits a serialized cartel story best started from the beginning.
What viewers praise
- Proven crowd traction Holds an Audience Score of 75 and an IMDb rating of 7.8 from about 22,100 user ratings, showing lasting interest for a crime drama binge.
- Easy Netflix pickup Available to stream on Netflix via subscription, including a Standard with Ads option in the US, plus rental or purchase options.
- Active review conversation Has dedicated show and Season 1 ratings pages with reviews, ratings and trailers, plus viewer-made Season 1 non-spoiler reviews.
Common complaints
- Serialized commitment Told as a biographical crime drama across its 2017 to 2018 run, it works as a continuing story rather than a quick standalone watch.
- Start from the start Much viewer discussion centers on Season 1, so jumping in mid-story can leave new viewers lost.
Recommended for
Fans of biographical crime dramas Viewers looking for a Netflix cartel series to binge from Season 1
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of El Chapo (2017): The Gritty Rise and Fall of a Crime Drama
The 2017 series El Chapo plunged viewers into the brutal, high-stakes world of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, one of history’s most notorious drug kingpins. A co-production between Netflix and Univision, the show promised an unflinching look at Guzmán’s rise from a low-level cartel operative to the head of the Sinaloa Cartel—and his eventual downfall. But how much of the drama unfolded off-screen? latestnetflix.com's view is that here’s what the evidence reveals about the making of this crime thriller.
A Star Is Born: Marco de la O’s Transformation into El Chapo
Mexican actor Marco de la O took on the daunting task of portraying Guzmán, a role that required more than just memorizing lines. De la O, born in 1978, was relatively unknown outside Mexico before El Chapo catapulted him into the spotlight 
. His performance earned praise for capturing Guzmán’s cunning, paranoia, and ruthlessness, though the actor has kept details about his preparation under wraps. Rumors swirl about method-acting techniques—like studying Guzmán’s mannerisms or even meeting cartel associates—but nothing has been confirmed .
What is clear: De la O’s portrayal was central to the show’s appeal. The series hinged on his ability to humanize a figure often reduced to headlines, and early reviews suggested he delivered 
.
Fact vs. Fiction: Where the Show Took Liberties
El Chapo billed itself as a "based on true events" drama, but creators Silvana Aguirre and Carlos Contreras didn’t let facts get in the way of a good story. The series fictionalized or altered key details to heighten tension, a common tactic in biographical crime dramas . For example:
- Forbes’ Power List: The show referenced Guzmán’s 2011 inclusion on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people (and Mexico’s 10th richest man), but it’s unclear how much of his empire’s inner workings were dramatized .
YTYouTube·Fact vs. Fiction (Who's Who) EL CHAPO Series and… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpwO2RZgKJA- Character Mashups: Some real-life figures were merged or renamed for legal or creative reasons. The YouTube video "Fact vs. Fiction (Who's Who)" likely breaks down these changes, but without access to its full content, specifics remain unverified.
- Timeline Tweaks: The series condensed events for pacing, skipping over years or rearranging sequences to keep viewers hooked .
Netflix and Univision never released a full fact-checking guide, leaving fans to debate which moments were accurate and which were pure Hollywood.
The Unseen Drama: Production Challenges and Rumors
Behind the scenes, El Chapo faced its share of hurdles, though details are scarce. Here’s what we know—or don’t:
- Safety Concerns: Filming a series about a living cartel leader in Mexico (or even nearby) would’ve been risky. While the production locations aren’t confirmed in the evidence, rumors suggest crews worked under tight security, possibly even filming in the U.S. or Colombia to avoid threats [no source; unverified].
- Casting Controversy: Some Mexican actors reportedly turned down roles due to fears of retaliation or ethical concerns about glorifying Guzmán. De la O, however, embraced the challenge, though he’s never publicly addressed these rumors [no source; unverified].
- Ratings and Reception: The show earned a modest 6.2/10 on SensCritique, with mixed reviews praising its intensity but criticizing its pacing or deviations from reality . IMDb’s cast and crew page lists hundreds of contributors, hinting at a large-scale production, but specifics about budgets or on-set conflicts remain unknown.
**The Legacy: Why El Chapo Still Matters**
Despite its flaws, El Chapo (2017) carved out a niche in the crowded true-crime genre. It arrived at a time when audiences were hungry for cartel dramas (Narcos had premiered two years earlier), but it stood apart by focusing on Guzmán’s early years—a period often overshadowed by his later escapes and arrests . The series also spotlighted the role of women in the cartel world, with Valentina Acosta’s character (based on Guzmán’s wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro) adding a layer of personal drama to the bloodshed .
Yet, for all its ambition, El Chapo remains a footnote in Netflix’s crime-drama catalog. Unlike Narcos, it didn’t spawn a franchise or inspire a wave of imitators. Its legacy is tied to its star: Marco de la O, who hasn’t replicated the role’s impact in subsequent projects .
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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