ZeroZeroZero Review: Three Cocaine Stories, One Weak Middle

ZeroZeroZero is a crime drama that knows exactly what it wants to be: a sprawling, international saga about the cocaine trade, told through multiple perspectives and a dense, almost overwhelming narrative structure. It premiered in 2020 on Paramount Network, and it remains one of the most ambitious attempts at a serialized crime series in recent memory. The show follows three distinct storylines across the globe, each dealing with a different aspect of the drug trade, and it demands patience from viewers who want to piece together its many moving parts.

The result is a mixed bag. ZeroZeroZero is often brilliant, visually stunning, and genuinely tense. But its ambition frequently overreaches, leaving some threads unresolved and others so convoluted that they feel like filler rather than plot. It is a show that rewards attention and punishes skimming. Whether it succeeds depends on how willing you are to sit with its slow-burn character studies and its labyrinthine plotting.

Trailer, via Sky TV.

Three Storylines, One Trade

ZeroZeroZero is structured around three main storylines, each set in a different country and following a different group of people involved in the cocaine trade. The first storyline follows a Mexican drug cartel boss and his son, who navigate the violence and corruption of their family business. The second focuses on a Colombian farmer who grows coca leaves and sells them to the cartels, caught between his loyalty to his community and his desire for a better life. The third follows a French businessman who imports the drug into Europe, using his connections and charm to move product across borders.

These three narratives rarely intersect directly, and the show spends significant time building each world before allowing them to collide. This structure is both the show’s greatest strength and its biggest weakness. The individual stories are rich and well-acted, but the lack of immediate crossover means the first half of the season feels like three separate shows running in parallel rather than a single cohesive narrative.

Style Over Substance

The visual style of ZeroZeroZero is undeniably striking. Director Martin Scorsese brings his signature flair to the project, and the cinematography is sharp, moody, and full of close-ups that linger on sweat, dirt, and desperation. The show is shot with a heightened sense of realism, with handheld cameras and muted color palettes that evoke the gritty, sun-drenched streets of Colombia and the smog-choked highways of Mexico. The production design is also top-notch, with sets that feel lived-in and authentic.

But the style sometimes overwhelms the substance. Scorsese’s influence is obvious in the pacing, the camera movements, and the editing, but the show occasionally leans too heavily on spectacle at the expense of clarity. Some scenes are so atmospheric that they lose their meaning, becoming more about mood than momentum. This is a show that is best watched attentively, rewound, and rewatched.

Performances Carry the Weight

The cast is uniformly excellent, particularly in the lead roles. Edgar Ramirez plays the Mexican cartel boss with a weary, paternal intensity that makes him both terrifying and sympathetic. He carries the weight of a man who has built his entire life around violence and knows he can never escape it. The actor’s performance is the emotional center of the show, grounding the chaos of the surrounding action in something close to human feeling.

In the Colombian storyline, Sebastián Dilian gives a restrained yet powerful performance as the farmer, a man whose decisions ripple outward into tragedy. His arc is the most emotionally resonant of the three, and it is a credit to Dilian that he manages to make a character who is essentially a cog in a machine feel like a fully realized person. The French storyline, starring Clive Owen, is less developed, but Owen brings a charismatic menace to the role that keeps the viewer engaged even when the plot stalls.

The Middle Stretch Stumbles

The middle stretch of ZeroZeroZero is where the show starts to show its cracks. The pacing slows considerably, and some subplots that were introduced early get dropped or left hanging. The show’s insistence on telling three separate stories means that not all of them get the same amount of attention, and the Colombian storyline, which holds the moral center of the piece, gets squeezed out in favor of more action-heavy sequences in Mexico and Europe. This is a structural flaw, not a stylistic one, and it undermines the emotional payoff that the earlier episodes build toward.

There are also moments where the show’s attempts at tension feel forced. A scene near the midpoint involving a shipment gone wrong stretches for several minutes without adding much new information, and the audience can feel the writer’s hand pulling the strings. These are the moments where ZeroZeroZero loses its grip, and the viewer is left wondering whether the payoff is worth the wait.

The Payoff Is Worth It

Despite its flaws, ZeroZeroZero delivers a strong finale that ties its three storylines together in a way that feels earned. The final episode brings the characters face-to-face in a way that the previous nine did not, and the resolution of the Colombian storyline in particular lands with genuine weight. The show does not shy away from the grim reality of its subject matter, and the ending respects the intelligence of its audience by refusing to offer a neat, happy conclusion.

The score for ZeroZeroZero is 7.5 out of 10, a mark that reflects both the highs and the lows of its execution. It is a show that demands a lot from its viewers, and it rewards those who are willing to commit to its slow burn. For fans of crime dramas, it offers a fresh perspective on a familiar genre, and its technical achievements are undeniable. But it is not a perfect show, and its flaws are real enough to keep it from greatness.

Hard Numbers

• Title: ZeroZeroZero
• Premiere: 2020, Paramount Network
• Episodes: 10
• Directors: Martin Scorsese
• Lead actors: Edgar Ramirez, Sebastián Dilian, Clive Owen
• Score: 7.5 of 10

Running Order

ZeroZeroZero is a show that is best experienced in its entirety, not picked apart episode by episode. Its strengths are real, and its weaknesses are frustrating, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is a worthy addition to the crime drama canon, flawed but compelling, and it deserves the attention of anyone who enjoys this genre.

cocaine trade · crime drama · Martin Scorsese · Paramount Network · TV Review