Narcos: Season One

The rise of Pablo Escobar from small-time smuggler to boss of the Medellín cocaine cartel is the subject of this Netflix series, featuring Wagner Moura in a chillingly compelling performance as the infamous drug lord whose mixture of populist charisma and steely brutality made him the Drug Enforcement Agency's most wanted criminal during the 1980s. Following his career from 1979—when he was first approached to transport cocaine to the U.S.—up to his 1992 prison escape, this debut season (filmed largely on location) details Escobar's innovative distribution techniques, involvement in Colombian politics, sometimes tense relationships with colleagues, and personal life—without glossing over his ruthlessness and cruelty. Narcos plays somewhat like a modern version of the old Untouchables series, especially since much of the connective exposition is presented as narration, here delivered by Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook), a DEA agent initially based in Miami who goes to Colombia (along with his wife) to assist local authorities in bringing Escobar's operation down. Unfortunately, Murphy comes off as a stock character, but with a generally strong supporting cast—including Luis Guzmán as one of the most short-tempered of Escobar's partners—Narcos succeeds in conveying how the man skillfully took advantage of every opportunity (including U.S. policy blunders) to build a drug empire that will be long remembered as one of the world's most powerful and profitable of criminal enterprises. Compiling all 10 episodes from the 2015 first season, extras include episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes. Recommended. (F. Swietek)