The story behind the recent arrest of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is as dramatic as anything else on Netflix right now. A drug lord who has escaped from prison hopes to inspire a Hollywood biopic, only to be captured because of a Rolling Stone interview with an A-lister actor. There is something undeniably Argo-esque about the whole scenario. It is definitely something to go on with, even though it isn’t as explosive as Narcos yet. 

Narcos is Netflix’s top-rated series which seems to have been the blueprint of El Chapo’s road to the red carpet. Narrated from the point of view of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Steve Murphy, the Golden Globe-nominated series tells the story of the rise of Pablo Escobar in Colombia in the 1980s and the consequent American war on drugs. The show premiered as a Netflix original series in August 2015, and is now available for streaming on Netflix India as well.

Narcos is intense, informative and brutal. It will keep you hooked on to the story of Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, played by Wagner Moura. The Golden Globe nominee does a smash hit job of portraying a character complex, enthralling, and endearing all at the same time.

Escobar was responsible for tonnes of cocaine making its way through Colombia into the United States. His biggest strengths were the corrupt system and his confidence in the fact that there was a simple solution to every problem in his path — “Plata o plomo?” (Silver or lead, take the bribe or take the bullet). Eventually, Escobar wielded a power so unmatched that he held an entire government hostage to his demands.

The show outlines the rise and terror of the Medellin Cartel, Escobar’s short and unsatisfactory political stint, and the chaos unleashed in Colombia. Just like El Chapo, Escobar came from nothing and built an empire. He created jobs in the community even as he killed countless people. By the time he was done, Escobar had more money than he could count, stashing it in furniture and burying it in the ground.