feelsalike.comSign in
Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ poster

Shows that feel likeSurviving Escobar - Alias JJ (2017)

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

If you loved Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ, the closest series we have are Black Bird (2022), La Reina del Sur (2011) and Narcos: Mexico (2018). All three share Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Godfather of Harlem (2019).

★ 7.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗1 season · Caracol TVcreated by John Jairo Velásquezcontemplativegritty
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Hulu · Apple TV

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

If Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ hit the spot, these will too

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: prison

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.

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

One thread runs through both: drug cartel

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

Narcos: Mexico poster
Narcos: Mexico
2018–2021 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.3drama · crimeNetflix

Common ground: drug cartel

See the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel as an American DEA agent learns the danger of targeting narcos in 1980s Mexico.

Locked Up poster
Locked Up
2015–2019 · 4 seasons · FOX España
★ 7.8drama · crimeNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: prison

Set up to take the blame for corporate fraud, young Macarena Ferreiro is locked up in a high-security women's prison surrounded by tough, ruthless criminals in this tense, provocative Spanish thriller.

MINDHUNTER poster
MINDHUNTER
2017–2019 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.6drama · crimeNetflix

Both land stillness and grit at once

An agent in the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists.

Ozark poster
Ozark
2017–2022 · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.4crime · dramaNetflix

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.

Dexter: New Blood poster
Dexter: New Blood
2021–2022 · 1 season · Showtime
★ 8drama · crimeParamount+

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, we find him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons.

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

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

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

Gritty crime 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.

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

The same drama instincts

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

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

Both know what they want from crime

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

The Sinner poster
The Sinner
2017–2021 · 4 seasons · USA Network
★ 7.8crime · dramaNetflix

Both play drama straight

In a small New York town, a haunted detective hunts for answers about perplexing crimes while wrestling with his own demons.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative shows →

The best-reviewed series that share Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ’s defining feeling.