Critic Reviews

Intense, enlightening, brilliant, unnerving, and addictive, Narcos is high-concept drama at its finest.

There’s no artificial cliffhanger to mull over. As the final credits roll, you’re left to sit back in slack-jawed wonderment at a self-contained story of the highest order. ... Season 3 is one of the best seasons of television.

While the show never soft-pedals the havoc Escobar created, it makes him surprisingly sympathetic, thanks in part to Moura’s shrewd, affecting performance.

As a TV antihero, Escobar is an enigma. But I can say that Narcos is nevertheless addictive, compelling, shocking, and even educational.

A season of television bolstered by memorable performances, an impeccably-paced plot, and an unflinching look into the life of a man who changed Colombia forever.

Catching Escobar then becomes an exciting and suspenseful story arc, and makes Narcos the first cool show of the new season.

Narcos is frequently funny and just stylized enough to amplify the entertainment value without minimizing the gravity of the subject matter. It’s an eminently bingeable show even as it makes a strong case for moderate consumption.

Moura as Escobar doesn’t bring the overall manic and sometimes comic intensity of Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface. He’s never dull, though, giving Narcos a thoroughly sinister presence who’s capable of anything and will stop at nothing.

Where season 1 spanned 10 years, season 2 captures Escobar's last days on the loose. Each tightly packed episode moves quickly without sacrificing richness, chronicling the uneasy alliances and gross tactics employed to Snare Escobar. [2 Sept 2016, p.48]

Moura’s performance anchors this show.