I love a good crime drama series. Shows like Breaking Bad, Narcos, Ozark, The Wire, Sopranos, Fargo, and, of course, Law & Order all have a special place in my heart and will always be among my favorites. I’m always looking for shows that offer a new dimension or a different perspective from anything I’ve seen before but still give me that same adrenaline rush, that same edge-of-my-seat, pit in my stomach feeling, that same dramatic pull and gripping storylines, and boy, did I stumble across an unheralded gem that gave me all of that and more.
ZeroZeroZero, a series from 2020 and available on Prime Video, is a sprawling epic of a mini-series, told over eight episodes, that focuses on the three legs of the cocaine trade: the buyers, the sellers and the brokers. The story is played out as we watch one massive shipment of cocaine originate in Mexico and travel by sea to its destination in Italy, and we see all the players involved in the shipment, as their individual storylines eventually come together.
The Mexican cartel are the sellers, the Italian mafia are the buyers and an American shipping family in New Orleans is the broker, and there are intense dramas that play out in all three individual stories. In Mexico, there is an ambitious young police captain, played by Harold Torres, who has big plans to take over the territory of the drug lords in Monterrey, using his police training to cut a violent path to the top. In Italy, an equally ambitious mafia boss, played by Giuseppe De Domenico, is looking to make his own move by taking out the head of his own family, who happens to be his grandfather, played by Adriano Chiaramida, and insert himself as Don. Caught in the middle is the Lynwood family, headed by shipping magnate Edward Lynwood (Gabriel Byrne), and his grown children, Emma (Andrea Riseborough) and Chris (Dane DeHaan). The Lynwoods don’t care about any of the drama going on in Mexico or Italy, their only concern is getting the shipment from Monterrey to Italy and that they get paid once it’s delivered. But they quickly find out it’s not possible to be a part of the drug trade and be immune from the violence of it as their shipment comes under attack.
One critic called ZeroZeroZero “A little of The Godfather, a splash of Sicario, a dash of Succession” and that’s such a great way to characterize it. Three separate stories are told, each one captivating in its own way, and each one is brushed with elements of violence, ambition, greed, pride and destiny. There is a beauty in the sprawling tale, in the cinematography, the music and the international settings. From the desert to the ocean to the mountains of Italy to the slums of Mexico, this series truly feels global, and yet each of the stories are so intimately told.
The performances are excellent all the way around. Byrne is the biggest name in the cast, but you may also recognize DeHaan and Riseborough, who made this two years before her grassroots-sourced surprise Best Actress Oscar nomination in 2022 for To Leslie shocked Hollywood. Riseborough is great, despite having to act in a hairstyle so bad it makes Javier Bardem’s in No Country for Old Men look sexy. The rest of the mostly international cast (most of the series is subtitled) is excellent (Torres’ cool moustache almost makes up for Riseborough’s hair), but you will need to be warned that the series is ultra-violent and dark. This is all about criminals, so there really isn’t much light, but if you know that going in, it’s all supremely fascinating and watchable.
ANIMAL LOVER WARNING: in episode three (titled “Miranda”), there is a supremely disturbing scene that you WILL WANT TO SKIP. It is not pertinent to the story. You’ll want to skip from 38:50 to 41:10.
ZeroZeroZero is available on Prime Video