Cowboy Cartel

Mexican drug cartels have had a prominent part in popular culture over the last decade, with shows like Breaking Bad, Narcos and Ozark reinforcing their reputation for violence. With a name like Cowboy Cartel, this Apple TV+ series sounds like it will fit right into this category of cartel crime dramas as it follows a group of investigators working to take down a horse racing money laundering conspiracy in Texas. However, this larger-than-life story is completely true. Throughout this four-part docuseries, viewers are told of how this gripping tale unfolded by those who were in the middle of the action.

The story begins when a rookie FBI agent posted in a Texas border town discovers suspicious activities happening at a horse auction where animals are being bought for a much higher price than they’re worth and a newcomer to the racing scene starts drawing attention to themself. After some investigation, it transpires that these incidents are connected to Los Zetas, a highly trained and ruthless cartel who controlled the Mexican border in the late 2000s.

The series gets off to a bit of a slow start. There’s a lot of set-up within the first episode, which is used to set the scene and give important context to what’s happening. With a lot of hyperbolic sound bites being thrown around by interviewees, the show is at its most manufactured at this point and subsequently feels indistinguishable from the other countless true crime documentaries on rival streaming services. It’s when the show hits the second episode, though, when the pace livens up and the scope widens.

Moving between various people involved in different parts of the investigation alongside a journalist covering the story, there are a lot of moving parts to the story that the series weaves together into a tightly-written plot, which moves forward at a brisk pace. Although some moments could have benefited from more explanation, there’s no shortage of unexpected twists to keep viewers on their toes until the very end.

After a derivative first episode, Cowboy Cartel opens into an exhilarating and highly entertaining retelling of how a team of agents were able to dismantle one of the most dangerous cartels in history.

Andrew Murray

Cowboy Cartel is released on Apple TV+ on 2^nd August 2024.

Watch the trailer for Cowboy Cartel here: