Sometimes a storyline is depicted on screen so intricately by filmmakers, that you instantly feel like you are there. It’s not an easy thing to do and, if done well, it means a lot of communication and work is done together with the art department, locations, cinematography, and so on and so on…

When watching the series premiere of Hotel Cocaine, I was overwhelmed by the nonstop disco music, dancing and, of course, the drugs, but it was the pastel colors and the family vibe that kept me coming back for more. I mean, that, as well as the contact high I was getting as a viewer, because every few minutes, illegal drugs kept popping onto the screen — whether they’re inhaled or not. And I just could not get enough of it.

South Florida has always been a smuggler’s paradise, but even more so during the late ’70s to early ’80s (which is probably my all-time favorite timeline). First came the rumrunners, later followed by the marijuana movement and eventually the drug of choice that washed upon our shores was cocaine. And the real-life place that made Studio 54 look like a church picnic was The Mutiny Hotel.

Everyone who was anyone could be found there, from Florida’s elite to celebrity agents, models, sports figures and musicians to international world figures and everybody in between. It’s a party atmosphere perfect to base a limited series TV show around, which leads us to the first episode, “The Mutiny.” The general manager of the hotel, Roman Compte (played by Danny Pino), is tasked with overseeing the excess of the glamorous nightclub, restaurant and hotel while living out the American Dream.

Everything outside of the hottest pleasure palace in Miami is destruction, death and sacrifice, but inside its doors, everyone is just having too much fun. It is the free flowing of drugs at this location which piques the interest of DEA Agent Zulio (Michael Chiklis in yet another police story), who blackmails Compte to spy on his estranged older brother, Nestor Cabal (Yul Vazquez), the city’s biggest importer of cocaine.

Nothing is ever complicated with family or organized crime and every pleasure has a price, which is an overarching theme for each of the main characters involved.

Michael Chiklis is Agent Zulio, bound and determined to clean up the Miami war zone, one drug dealer at a time in Hotel Cocaine. Photo Courtesy: MGM Plus.

I was truly impressed with the Cuban family dynamic on display here, which is definitely intense. Roman is doing everything for his daughter, never forgetting his family’s heritage (or his false imprisonment by Fidel Castro). This show is really an immigration song, but it’s one where everyone seems to have skeletons within their closets. Money is built upon secrets and even more dark secrets are built upon other secrets. You want to see the good guy succeed, but you also kinda want to see the bad brother succeed as well, in a Sopranos kind of scenario.

It all boils down to this, really: Do you betray your brother in order to save your daughter?

A whole lot is happening within a short amount of time, wearing out my short attention span. And I love it all, beginning with the great main title theme by Swizz Beatz, to all of the locally inspired pastel colors to the frequent pop-culture references of its time and the occasional nudity (tastefully done, BTW). There’s a mighty buildup for a whole lot of violence yet to come and I can’t wait for it.

I have always enjoyed deep cover stories, especially those with unbridled debauchery. This one, from series creator Chris Brancato (the co-creator of Narcos and Godfather of Harlem) is a great crime thriller currently airing on the MGM Plus streaming service. I hope it lasts for more than its expected eight episodes, because the first episode in particular is incredible.

If you’re hoping to forget your troubles, if only for a minute, you too can party like the ’80s at the central hub for the Miami cocaine scene, the Hotel Cocaine.