Parents' Guide to

ZeroZeroZero

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Global drug trade series is violent, binge-worthy.

TV Amazon Prime Video Drama 2020
ZeroZeroZero Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

MT.
MT. Adult
August 25, 2021
age 18+

violent but exciting and worthy

the show is great it holds you at the edge of your sit. It does have violence but not as much as peaky blinders, or breaking bad. It has explicit sex and the main theme is drug traffic

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Based on the 2013 true crime book by Roberto Saviano, ZEROZEROZERO is a fictional series that explores the complicated world of global drug trafficking. Edward Lynwood (Gabriel Byrne) owns a New Orleans-based shipping company, and works as a middle man who brokers drug deals between different clients. When the family business is threatened with economic ruin, his adult children, Chris and Emma (played by Dane DeHaan and Andrea Riseborough) are tasked with making sure a major cocaine shipment from the Mexican Leyra drug syndicate makes it to Don Minu LaPiana (Adriano Chiaramida), a 'Ndrangheta (Calabrian mafia) boss in Italy. The stakes are high, especially since Minu's grandson, Stefano (Guiseppe De Domenico) is looking to seize control of the family. Making the situation more complicated is the chaos in Monterrey, where Special Forces leader Manuel Contreras (Harold Torres) is attempting to loosen the Leyras' hold on the local drug industry.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

This well-produced adaptation successfully weaves three separate narratives together as it follows the tumultuous international transit of a single cocaine shipment from start to finish. As each story moves forward, it reveals a web of kingpins, brokers, fixers, and other operatives that form part of the far-reaching and complicated global drug trade. Though few are innocent, many characters are interesting and multilayered, as they work to reconcile their personal lives while preserving power and profit. These intimate looks into their lives make it possible to forget that they are all playing a part in a vicious criminal enterprise where few can be trusted, and which inflicts endless collateral damage. But ZeroZeroZero never stops underscoring how the narcotics industry has become an intrinsic part of our international economic system, and how many people from around the world are involved in it. It's entertainingly addictive to watch, but also very disturbing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way ZeroZeroZero portrays illegal drug smuggling and other gangster-related crimes. Do you think this show glorifies these activities? Does it affect the way you think about drugs, violence, and other criminal activities in real life?

  • How do the Lynwoods justify their work? What about the different crime syndicates? What other than money motivates them?

  • Is it possible to produce entertaining TV shows about violent subjects without showing a lot of destructive or brutal content? Do you think graphic scenes make a show more impactful or entertaining?

TV Details

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