What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedEl Chapo
Daniel Posada · Series · 2017
If you loved El Chapo, start with Pablo Escobar (Sebastián Marroquín, 2016) — a book on the same thread. Below: 1 book, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to El Chapo across media.
If El Chapo held your attention, you will be fascinated by these raw portraits of power, corruption, and inevitable criminal collapse.
Books on the same thread
Pablo Escobar
Sebastián Marroquín · Book · 2016
Explores: Family Loyalty, Narco Culture, Moral Ambiguity.
Just as El Chapo explores the personal toll of a life in power, this memoir provides a firsthand look at the human cost of the international drug trade.
Films on the same thread
Scarface
Film · 1983
Shares 2 threads with El Chapo: Rise and fall, Drug trafficking.
If you were drawn to the meteoric rise and violent downfall depicted in El Chapo, this classic film offers a definitive study of a drug lord's destructive ambition.
El Infierno
Luis Estrada · Film · 2010
Explores: Drug War, Corruption, Social Commentary.
This film mirrors the bleak reality of the drug war seen in El Chapo, focusing on the impossible choices individuals face when trapped within a corrupt cartel system.
Elite Squad
Film · 2007
Explores: Police Corruption, Urban Warfare, Moral Ambiguity.
While El Chapo focuses on the kingpin, this gritty drama offers the opposing perspective, examining the moral ambiguity and institutional violence inherent in battling organized crime syndicates.
Blow
Ted Demme · Film · 2001
Explores: American Dream corruption, Moral Ambiguity, Consequences of Greed.
Much like the trajectory of El Chapo, this narrative follows an ambitious figure whose pursuit of the American Dream leads to a devastating downfall fueled by greed.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Dropout
ABC News · Podcast · 2026
Explores: hubris, fraud, silicon valley culture.
You will find the same obsession with hubris and total ruin in this story of corporate fraud that defined the rapid ascent and collapse of El Chapo.
Kinahans Downfall
Podcast · 2026
Shares a thread with El Chapo: Organized Crime.
This deep dive into the Irish cartel landscape echoes the violent, high-stakes power struggles and criminal underworld dynamics that were central to the life of El Chapo.
Keep exploring
Common questions
What time period does the show El Chapo cover?
El Chapo covers the life of the drug kingpin starting from his early days in the 1980s while working for the Guadalajara Cartel, his rise to power throughout the 1990s, and follows his criminal career until his ultimate downfall in 2016.
Is El Chapo based on a real person?
Yes, El Chapo is a dramatized look at the life of the notorious drug kingpin. The series follows his historical trajectory from his initial involvement with the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s through his eventual downfall in 2016.
How long is the timeline portrayed in El Chapo?
The series El Chapo spans several decades of the kingpin's life. It begins in the 1980s during his time with the Guadalajara Cartel, tracks his significant rise to power during the 1990s, and concludes with his final downfall in 2016.
Does El Chapo show how he started his career?
Yes, El Chapo depicts the early stages of his criminal career. The show begins in the 1980s, documenting his time working for the Guadalajara Cartel before he eventually rose to power in the 1990s and faced his downfall in 2016.