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El Chema poster

Shows that feel likeEl Chema (2016–2017)

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

If you loved El Chema, the closest series we have are Mayans M.C. (2018), Godfather of Harlem (2019) and Baby (2018). All three share El Chema'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 Unbelievable (2019).

★ 6.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗2 seasons · Telemundocreated by Luis Zelkowiczgrittycontemplative
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Hulu · Apple TV
Stream it:Peacock ↗

If El Chema hit the spot, these will too

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

Gritty where it counts, contemplative underneath

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.

Godfather of Harlem poster
Godfather of Harlem
2019–2025 · 4 seasons · Epix
★ 8.1drama · crimeHulu

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.

Baby poster
Baby
2018–2020 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.9dramaNetflix

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

Fed up with their families and classmates, two teen girls from a wealthy part of Rome are drawn to the city's underworld and start leading double lives.

Unbelievable poster
Unbelievable
2019 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 8.3drama · crimeNetflix

Gritty crime in both cases

After a young woman is accused of lying about a rape, two female detectives investigate a spate of eerily similar attacks.

Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ poster
Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ
2017 · 1 season · Caracol TV
★ 7.8drama · crime

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

As the Medellín Cartel crumbles, Pablo Escobar's No. 1 hit man struggles to stay alive and gain respect in the prison hierarchy.

American Crime Story poster
American Crime Story
2016–2021 · 3 seasons · FX
★ 8.4crime · dramaHulu

Crime of the same temperament

An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminal investigations.

El Capo poster
El Capo
2009–2014 · 3 seasons · RCN
★ 7.2crime · drama

Both are drama through and through

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.

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

Both know what they want from crime

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.

The Americans poster
The Americans
2013–2018 · 6 seasons · FX
★ 8.4crime · dramaHulu

The drama is handled with the same confidence

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.

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Power
2014–2020 · 6 seasons · STARZ
★ 8.1crime · dramaHuluStarz

Crime approached the same way

A successful New York entrepreneur lives a double life as the head of a drug empire that serves only the rich and influential, all while wanting to escape the underworld and keep his family safe.

Black Bird poster
Black Bird
2022 · 1 season · Apple TV
★ 8.1drama · crimeApple TV+

Drama in the same key

As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: If he can elicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall, Jimmy will be freed. Completing this mission becomes the challenge of a lifetime.

El Chapo poster
El Chapo
2017–2018 · 3 seasons · Univision
★ 7.8drama · crimeNetflix

Both working the same crime territory

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.

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