The new Hulu series Dear Killer Nannies is about the life of Juan Pablo Escobar, the son of notorious Medellin cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar. What’s unusual about the show is that it’s not only told from his perspective, but Juan Pablo himself narrates the scripted story.
Opening Shot: A man walks into a house, throws a conference badge in a bin full of them, and then sits down to a laptop to write his story.
The Gist: That man is the real Juan Pablo Escobar (aka Sebastián Marroquín), who is the son of Pablo Escobar, the notorious head of the Medellin cartel in Colombia. He is narrating a story about his life with his father, going back and forth between when he was 7 and blissfully unaware of his father’s criminal activity, and when he was 16, and his father’s death thrust him into a leadership role he didn’t want.
In 1984, the seven-year-old “Jaumpi” (Miguel Tamayo) enjoyed hanging out with his “nannies,” who were essentially hitmen for Escobar (John Leguizamo). These “nannies” — Tina (Danharry Colorado), El Dorado (Rafael Zea), Kiss (Andrés Delgado), Lagaña (Julián Díaz) and Angie (Juanita Molina) — aren’t exactly looking out for the kid’s best interests; when the Jeep they’re in hits a gazelle, for instance, they give Jaumpi a gun to finish off the injured animal.
When Jaumpi asks his mother Victoria (Laura Rodríguez) where his dad is at dinner, Victoria tells him that his father is a busy man. Juampi sees that when he visits his father’s office — he’s a congressman as well as a cartel kingpin. People line up to ask Escobar for help, and he generally helps them, which is why he’s called “Robin Hood” in the press. One woman, thankful that Escobar supported them after her husband died, offers her teenage son Rodri (Julián Zuluaga) up as an employee, and he becomes one of the “nannies” closest to Juampi.
In 1993, Juan (Janer Villareal), now barely 16, tries to escape Colombia with his family as a cartel war erupts. They’re turned away at the airport, but a benefactor manages to get them out of Medellin and to Bogotá. But as they hide out there, his father is ambushed and killed back in Medellin, leaving the young Juan in charge of the cartel.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Created by Sebastián Ortega, along with Juan Pablo Escobar and Pablo Farina, Dear Killer Nannies is sort of like Narcos, but on a more personal level.
Our Take: The extensive disclaimers at the beginning of Dear Killer Nannies take pains to say that, despite this being Juan Pablo Escobar’s story, much of what we’re seeing has been fictionalized. It definitely puts the viewer in a position to wonder how much of of what the junior Escobar talks about during his narration is true or a figment of his childhood memories. Either way, the story is pretty fragmented, to the point where viewers can’t latch onto what Juan’s life was like in either 1984 or 1993.
When we see young Juan, he comes off as a typically clueless kid who thinks his father is a hero, seems to think that everyone lives the life he does, and annoys the crap out of all of the killers who are nominally in charge of keeping him occupied and safe. He’ll be set straight soon enough, as he witnesses his father set fire to a man who crossed Escobar, a man Juan spotted as he was being driven by the “nannies” through the city. But even then, he’s still portrayed as a dopey kid who gets too big for his britches.
The teenage version of Juan is almost as clueless, but at the very least, he’s going to be thrust into a drug war that he never wanted to be a part of. But it seems that even the teenage Juan is portrayed as nothing more than a cipher without any kind of personality of his own.
Because of the jumps back and forth in time, neither aspect of the story can really take hold, especially when it comes to Juan’s relationship with his “killer nannies,” They all seem like an amalgamation of thugs that are not only unhinged but have no business looking after an elementary-school-age child. We’re not sure we’re going to get enough insight into Juan at either age, the “nannies” that were supposed to keep him safe, or even Escobar himself, in order to hold our interest in Juan’s story.
Performance Worth Watching: John Leguizamo, who is also an executive producer, makes the most of his brief screen time as Escobar, showing glimpses of both the violent cartel kingpin and caring congressman who had such a devoted following.
Sex And Skin: None in the first episode.
Parting Shot: As he witnesses his father set fire to the man he helped capture, Juan says in voiceover: “My father was a criminal, and my life would never be the same again.”
Sleeper Star: Another interesting bit of casting is Carmen Electra as a woman named Margarete, whose connection to Escobar’s family is unknown as of the first episode.
Most Pilot-y Line: A scene where Juan interrupts the “nannies” hanging out in a room with pool tables and video games feels like it’s out of a bad sitcom.
Our Call: SKIP IT. While the idea of hearing the story of Pablo Escobar’s son is intriguing, Dear Killer Nannies just doesn’t go deep enough into Juan Pablo Escobar’s life to make things interesting.
How To Watch Dear Killer Nannies
If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.