Summary

• Narcos inspired a wave of TV series about the dark and criminal world of drug lords, like Weeds and Breaking Bad.
• Shows like Narco-Saints, La Reina Del Sur, and Boardwalk Empire offer similar thematic elements and engrossing storytelling.
• Crime dramas like Gomorrah, El Chapo, and Ozark provide a gritty and realistic look at the drug trade with complex characters.

Thanks to shows like Narcos, audiences have fallen in love with TV series about the dark and criminal world associated with drug lords. Shows with criminals and bad guys as the main characters are nothing new, as The Sopranos was the hottest show on HBO at one time and The Shield brought crooked cops to network TV. However, in the case of Narcos, it was a little different. The bad guys leading the way in this show were all based on real people — mafia bosses and drug lords who got rich by making the world a very dangerous place.

Narcos continued to impress viewers years after its finale with its tense storylines, heavy subject matter, and incredible performances. If fans of the show are looking for more content that includes some similar elements, there are plenty of shows like Narcos to enjoy. A highly regarded spin-off show, Narcos: Mexico, took up where the original left off, and its popularity shows that series with similar themes connect heavily with audiences. The best shows like Narcos offer engrossing stories that should entertain audiences for years to come.

20 Narco-Saints (2022)

A Korean Mechanic Moves To South America And Starts Dealing

K-dramas have a reputation for being serial rom-coms, but shows produced in South Korea include all of the major TV genres, including crime dramas. There are not a ton of K-dramas that involve the drug trade as investigative crime procedurals are a little more common, so that helps Narco-Saints to stand out already.

In Narco-Saints, a Korean businessman moves to a small country in South America with the intention of working in the fishing industry. What happens is that he gets roped into dealing drugs with a pastor. While this sounds like an outlandish premise for the series, it’s actually inspired by a true story.

The series is only six episodes long, but those six episodes make a big impression. The series won several awards at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, the Baeksang Arts Awards, and the Korea Drama Awards.

19 La Reina Del Sur (2011-)

A Telenovela With An Eight-Year Break

La Reina Del Sur has an interesting trajectory for a telenovela. Each season of the series has at least 60 episodes because telenovelas in Latin American countries, like soap operas in the United States, air almost daily. The first season of the show ran in 2011, but the second season didn’t premiere for another eight years. That’s a huge break, but part of that involves the networks/studios financing the series changing.

The series follows the rise of the most powerful drug trafficker in Southern Spain, a woman named Teresa Mendoza, and is inspired by the book of the same name. Teresa flees to Spain after her boyfriend, a pilot for a Mexican cartel, is executed. She finds herself wrapped up in the life of someone else involved in narcotics and decides to take matters into her own hands.

In 2020, the show won the Best Non-English Language US Primetime Program at the International Emmy Awards and was nominated for other awards throughout its run so far.

The 2016 series Queen of the South is an English-language remake of the same story.

18 Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)

Corruption Thrives In The Prohibition Era

In the 1920s, alcohol was outlawed in the United States. During Prohibition, illegal businesses like bootlegging and speakeasies were thriving. Building an empire based on rum-running could easily lead to business expansion into more unsavory dealings, not unlike the drug operations built in shows like Narcos. That’s what happens in Boardwalk Empire.

The series follows a politician who lives a lavish life during Prohibition as he controls the bulk of the rum-running in Atlantic City and maintains connections to mafia and mob bosses. The show features lavish sets and costumes and completely immerses viewers into this world with the lead of Martin Scorsese, who directed the pilot episode of the series.

Boardwalk Empire won three Primetime Emmy Awards, 17 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globes during its run.

17 Surviving Escobar: Alias JJ (2017)

The Story Of A Cartel Leader’s Right-Hand

A lot of crime dramas centering on the drug trade opt to tell the story of the person in charge or the person who wants to take them down. Surviving Escobar: Alias JJ takes a look at the drug trade through the eyes of the right-hand man of Pablo Escobar instead.

The series begins as Escobar’s downfall is enacted. Inspired by the memoir of JJ Velázquez, the series sees the titular JJ end up in prison and try to remain relevant in the drug world and powerful from the inside. Just how much of the story (and there is a lot of story with 69 episodes of JJ’s power struggle) is true has been debated, but it still makes for a compelling and unique point of view.

Originally produced and aired in Colombia, the show became one of the top 3 highest-rated shows in the country.

16 Griselda (2024)

A Woman Becomes Miami’s Most Powerful Crime Boss

The six-episode miniseries stars Sofia Vergara as the title character. Griselda grasped power in the Miami drug scene in the 1980s and tried to hold onto it by any means necessary. When her own life was in danger, she turned herself in, but her struggle only continued. In real life, the powerful woman was assassinated in 2012, but on Netflix, Vergara’s portrayal of her will live on.

Though family of Griselda Blanco attempted to sue Netflix and put a stop to the series, the suit was dismissed. Following the show’s debut on Netflix, it climbed to the top of the streaming chart, becoming the number one show for the platform in 90 countries for the first week of its release. Vergara earned praise from critics for the dramatic role, since most have been familiar with the actor’s comedic work instead.

Vergara has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role.

15 The Wire (2002-2008)

The Different Facets Surrounding Baltimore's War On Drugs

The Wire took place in Baltimore and each season represented a different aspect of society there.

Easily, one of the best shows about the illegal drug trade was HBO's The Wire. However, there was so much more to this show than just a look at drug lords. The Wire took place in Baltimore and each season represented a different aspect of society there.

The other seasons focus on the port system, the government, the schools, and the media. However, the first season is where this compares well to shows like Narcos, as it focuses on the illegal drug trade run by drug kingpin Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris).

What makes The Wire such a compelling show is how it gives a realistic look at the war on drugs in which the lines between good guys and bad guys are blurred and victories are short-lived. The police investigation into Barksdale is refreshingly honest as well with tedium and red tape being more common than shootouts and raids. All in all, The Wire as a complete series is considered one of the best dramas that HBO ever produced.

14 Gomorrah (2014-2021)

An Internal Struggle For Power Within A Drug Empire

The Italian crime drama Gomorrah is based on the non-fiction book by Roberto Saviano about the Camorra criminal organization. An award-winning movie was released in 2008 based on the book (with a Criterion Collection release) and the TV show hit in 2014.

While both are based on the book, neither the movie nor the show is connected in any other way. The series takes place in Naples and focuses on the Camorra clan, specifically after its leader Pietro Savastano is arrested, and a power struggle breaks out between rival clans, and within his own crime family as well.

The series feels Shakespearean in certain ways and like a drug trade version of Succession in others. Like The Wire, it stands out in the genre for being realistic and gritty in its portrayal of this world with atmospheric storytelling add incredible tension throughout the story.

13 The Deuce (2017-2019)

The Drugs, Sex, And Organized Crime Surrounding Time Square In The 1970s

The Deuce takes place in New York City during the 1970s and 80s and follows twin brothers who work for the mafia while operating out of Times Square.

The Deuce is another Max crime drama, and it had The Wire creator David Simon behind it. This show takes place in New York City during the 1970s and 80s and follows twin brothers who work for the mafia while operating out of Times Square.

The cast was impressive for television, with James Franco starring as the twin brothers Vincent and Frankie, and Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as Candy Renee, a sex worker who wants to get in on the ground floor of the growing porn industry in New York City.

With government and police corruption and the violence surrounding the NYC drug trade, this is a show that fans of Narcos should love. The period setting is brought to life with exciting detail as the series three-season run jumps through decades, showing the changes to this area over time and the end of a certain era in the New York City drug trade.

12 Gangs Of London (2020- )

A Gang War Erupts In The Wake Of A Mob Boss's Death

Gangs of London is a British crime drama series co-created by Gareth Evans (The Raid) and based on a video game franchise called The Getaway. Despite the video game connection, this is a gritty and brutal series about rival gangs and criminal organizations in London and the fight for power when the most powerful crime boss is assassinated.

When one crime family decides to take power, it creates an all-out war between different crime families, which erupts in the streets of London, both from within and from outsiders wanting to move in and take over.

The look at modern organized crime is also fascinating with undercover officers, dark family secrets, and those attempting to escape the world building a complex story.

There are two seasons and the show has received universal acclaim with the brutal fight sequences being highlighted as offering some of the best action sequences on television. However, the look at modern organized crime is also fascinating with undercover officers, dark family secrets, and those attempting to escape the world building a complex story.

11 Snowfall (2017-2023)

The Early Days Of The Crack Epidemic In Los Angeles

Snowfall was an addition to the crime drama genre from FX, with the first season premiering in 2017. The show is set in Los Angeles in the 1980s and focuses on the crack epidemic at the time and how it affected the city.

After the first season focused on the epidemic on a wide scale, the second season became more like shows like Narcos because it narrowed the focus to one drug dealer on the rise in L.A. Snowfall received an impressive six seasons and 60 episodes, and it might have also received a spinoff series focusing on Gail Bean's character of Wanda Simmons.

It is a powerful drama that examines a real-world issue that still has lasting implications on communities decades later. The rise of Franklin Saint (played by Damson Idris) through the drug trade is a heartbreaking and thrilling journey.