Hotel Cocaine is for fans of Narcos (all six seasons) and Griselda (with Emmy-nominated Sofía Vergara). The first season on MGM+ has ended – Each of the eight episodes was released weekly. Now it’s time to watch the episodes.
Created by NarcosThe series is set in Miami in the late 1970s, during the cocaine boom that led to tons of the drug being imported from Colombia. Unlike the other series, the entire action takes place in Florida. Rival gangs from Colombia and Cuba fight for territory.
Most of the scenes take place in the glamorous hotel and club of the title. Cocaine is the fuel that keeps the “pleasure palace” running. Burton Greenburg (Mark Feuerstein) owns it, and Roman Compte (Danny Pino) and Janice Nicholson (Laura Gordon) run it. When DEA agent Zulio (Michael Chiklis), trying to break Roman’s Brother of drug lord Nestor Cabal (Yul Vazquez), threatens Roman’s teenage daughter Valeria (Corina Bradley) and Roman asks Nestor for help. This sets off a chain reaction between the DEA, the brothers and the Colombians Yolanda (Maya Hermosillo) and Gilberto (Juan Pablo Raba), who appear in the middle of the series.
With the arrival of the Colombians, the tone changes. Yolanda is Griselda x 10.
The first few episodes are fun. Burton trudges around day and night, regularly taking LSD. He also likes TM and wears disco clothes. His character is a blast, especially in the early episodes where special hotel guests appear Hunter S. Thompson (John Ventimiglia) and Rick James (Larry Powell).
But it’s actually Roman’s story. He and his brother emigrated to the United States illegally from Cuba. They hate Fidel Castro, and Nestor intends to use the drug profits to lead an invasion of the island. Roman’s animosity is also fueled by the death of his wife in Cuba at the hands of the army (or so he believes).
“The war we fought in Cuba never ended for me,” says Nestor in his villa. “I’m not selling Yayo to line my pockets. I’m using it to finance a war that I never stopped fighting.”
With the arrival of the Colombians, the tone changes. Yolanda is Griselda x 10. She uses her body to attract men and hires assassins to carry out her and Gilberto’s murderous orders. Her ambitious plans stand in the way of Nestor’s empire. He enjoys the challenge.
Some of the later episodes get bogged down in too many plot threads, but the finale culminates in a cleverly written ending that paves the way for a second season.
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