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El Capo poster

Shows that feel likeEl Capo (2009–2014)

El Capo, the most wanted drug dealer in Mexico, has been intercepted while hiding with his trusted men, his wife and his lover. During his escape, he declares war on the government and his own past.

If you loved El Capo, the closest series we have are Rosario Tijeras (2010), Without Breasts There Is No Paradise (2008) and Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord (2012). All three share El Capo's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Mayans M.C. (2018).

★ 7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · RCNcreated by Gustavo Bolívargrittycontemplative
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Hulu

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

If El Capo hit the spot, these will too

Rosario Tijeras poster
Rosario Tijeras
2010 · 1 season · RCN
★ 8action & adventure · crime · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: telenovela

The difference: Sits closer to action & adventure than El Capo does

This is the story of the legendary Rosario Tijeras, the beautiful warrior from a slum who fell in love with Antonio and Emilio, two handsome and wealthy young men. Antonio, a young architect, desperately rushes the dying Rosario Tijeras to a nearby hospital. The beautiful Rosario has been shot four times by a hitman. While he waits for his beloved Rosario to be saved from her wounds, Antonio recalls how Rosario, a beautiful teenager, became the murderer Rosario Tijeras. And how he, a dashing young man, makes her his obsession. The woman of his dreams.

Without Breasts There Is No Paradise poster
Without Breasts There Is No Paradise
2008 · 1 season · Telemundo
★ 6.9action & adventure · drama · crime

Gustavo Bolívar working the same nerve twice

The tragic story of Catalina Santana, whose ambition is so strong that she will risk her life due to her obsession with having bigger breasts to attract drug lords and have all the luxuries in the world.

Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord poster
Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord
2012 · 1 season · Caracol TV
★ 8.4crime · dramaNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: telenovela

Pablo is a man with a natural ability for business. Early in his life, Pablo is introduced to the business of cocaine and the power it yields. A young life of crime lands Pablo in and out of jail as he builds his criminal empire. Pablo expands his power through politics but it is not long before his conflicts as a Congressman and a drug lord collide. Pablo has his enemies executed, but not before the United States activates its own war on the Medellin cartel.

La Reina del Sur poster
La Reina del Sur
2011– · 3 seasons · Telemundo
★ 7.8drama · crimeNetflix

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

After years of blood, sweat and tears, a woman of humble origin ends up becoming a drug trafficking legend, with all that that means...

The Queen of Flow poster
The Queen of Flow
2018– · 3 seasons · Caracol TV
★ 7.5drama · crimeNetflix

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

Seventeen years after being wrongly imprisoned, a talented songwriter seeks justice against the men who caused her downfall and killed her family.

El Chema poster
El Chema
2016–2017 · 2 seasons · Telemundo
★ 6.9crime · dramaPeacock

Contemplative drama in both cases

Follow one man's epic journey as he transforms from wily underage drug smuggler to one of the world's most infamous cartel leaders.

Rosario Tijeras (Mexico) poster
Rosario Tijeras (Mexico)
2016– · 5 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.2drama · crimeNetflix

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

Worlds collide when a vengeance-obsessed young woman from the other side of the tracks captures the attention of two well-off friends.

Sin senos sí hay paraíso poster
Sin senos sí hay paraíso
2016– · 3 seasons · Telemundo
★ 6.6action & adventure · crime · dramaPeacock

Gustavo Bolívar directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

A young woman born in a mafia-controlled town seeks revenge on those who wrongfully harmed and imprisoned her family.

Atrévete a Soñar poster
Atrévete a Soñar
2009–2010 · 1 season · Las Estrellas
★ 5.8drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than El Capo does

Danna Paola stars as Patito, Eleazar Gómez as Mateo, Violeta Isfel and Cynthia Klitbo, play antagonist roles as Antonella and Bianca. The telenovela features adult protagonists also, René Strickler and Vanessa Guzmán. It first aired on Sunday, 8 March 2009, as the first telenovela to debut on a Sunday in Mexico. After a year of success, becoming a major hit in Mexico, especially among children, its final episode was also on a Sunday, 7 March 2010.

Justified poster
Justified
2010–2015 · 6 seasons · FX
★ 8.6crime · dramaHulu

Crime approached the same way

A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed official of the law. The tale covers his high-stakes job, as well as his strained relationships with his ex-wife and father.

Boardwalk Empire poster
Boardwalk Empire
2010–2014 · 5 seasons · HBO
★ 8.5crime · dramaMax

Both know what they want from drama

Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition is a place where the rules don't apply. And the man who runs things -- legally and otherwise -- is the town's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, who is equal parts politician and gangster.

Mayans M.C. poster
Mayans M.C.
2018–2023 · 5 seasons · FX
★ 7.5crime · dramaHulu

Crime in the same key

Set in the aftermath of Jax Teller’s death, Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes is fresh out of prison and a prospect in the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. Now, EZ must carve out his new identity in a town where he was once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp.

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The best-reviewed series that share El Capo’s defining feeling.