Netflix's 10/10 Crime Thriller Is So Good, It Got 3 Seasons And A Spinoff

Published Sep 18, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT

Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. 

Netflix's 10/10 crime thriller is one of the best shows on its platform and its spinoff is just as good. As one of the older streaming services, it can be easy to forget how many fantastic original series it's had over the years. Neflix came out of the gate strong, with some game-changing shows.

The Crown, the first two seasons of House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Master of None were once some of the most important shows in the pop culture and critical conversations. At that time, it felt like Netflix was really making a bid to challenge HBO as the king of prestige television.

Maybe their crowning achievement then was Narcos and its spinoff, Narcos: Mexico. Narcos is a crime drama that chronicles the growth of narcoterrorism and the drug trade in South America and later, Central America. It begins with the rise of the Medellín Cartel and its leader, Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura).

We see both sides of the conflict/business, from Escobar's vantage point and from the American DEA's perspective, with agents Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal) as our lenses. The series explores the push and pull of American interests, the lucrative drug trade, and the Colombian government's mandate.

After season 2, Escobar's story is over, but as we all know, the drug trade did anything but slow. The power vacuum that resulted from Escobar's death led to the formation of several cartels all vying for supremacy, with wars that have paved a bloody path through the last few decades.

Narcos Is One The Best Netflix Originals Ever

Narcos still stands as one of Netflix's best shows ever. It ranks high on the list of crime dramas from the 2010s as well. That may sound like a small sample size until you consider that it includes titles such as True Detective, Mindhunter, and Fargo. It's become slightly forgotten about over the years, but it's a show that you should feel compelled to watch in the same way as Breaking Bad.

Narcos merges real, thick textual history with an incredible character portrait that creates something far different than the usual biopic. Through the use of archival footage and voice-over, Narcos almost feels like a documentary at some point. It's the kind of show that will have you racing to Wikipedia to learn more.

That may sound like a very dry, doddering series, but everything in between the history lessons is textured and colorful. Escobar is a fascinating, complex figure and Moura infuses him with a soulful sadness and bitterness. Pascal and Holbrook have fantastic chemistry together as well, and watching them reach their boiling points in their Sisyphean task is as absorbing as Escobar consolidating power.

Narcos: Mexico Is Just As Good As Narcos

Narcos: Mexico was actually supposed to be seasons 4-6 of Narcos but ended up as a spinoff. For that reason, it feels like it always gets a bit forgotten about coming after the dizzying arc of the original show. Narcos: Mexico is just as compelling a series as the original, offering up enough changes to separate itself, but still living within the world created by Narcos.

With a focus on the Mexican drug trade, one that's still occurring in Mexico and the United States, Narcos: Mexico feels less like a history lesson, and more like a contemporary look at why our modern war on drugs has spun out in the way it has. It's as smart and shocking as Narcos and solidifies the franchise as one of Netflix's best.