Kingpin - TV.com

Kingpin: Summary

Airs Next:NBC at Tuesday 10:00 PM (60 min.)
Status:Ended
Premiered:February 2, 2003
Last Aired:February 18, 2003
Show Categories:Drama, Action/Adventure

Two-time Emmy Award-winning executive producer/writer David Mills ("The Corner," "ER," and "NYPD Blue") has created NBC's gritty new series "Kingpin." In this stylized drama, the struggles and machinations of a powerful Mexican drug-trafficking family are displayed in graphic detail as they face challenges from both the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and from the dangerous underworld in which they reside.

Yancey Arias ("The Time Machine") stars as Stanford-educated Miguel Cadena, a savvy businessman who has risen to the threshold of supremacy in his family's illegal drug cartel as power begins to pass from one generation to the next. Behind the opulent fa�ade of the Cadenas' lifestyle of private jets, yachts and villas stands a massive drug-dealing operation that produces immense quantities of illegal narcotics despite the ongoing family infighting.

Also starring in "Kingpin" are Sheryl Lee ("L.A. Doctors," "Twin Peaks") as Marlene, Miguel's beautiful American wife, who as a lawyer works to protect the family business from government intervention and who shares her husband's proclivity for ruthless cunning; Ruben Carbajel as Joey, the couple's 8-year-old son whom they attempt to shelter from their dangerous lifestyle; Bobby Cannavale ("Third Watch") as Chato, Miguel's ambitious and brutal yet loyal brother; Angela Alvarado Rosa ("Boss of Bosses") as Delia Flores, a DEA agent ardently fighting to thwart drug dealers wherever she finds them; Brian Benben ("Dream On") as Dr. Heywood Klein, a successful plastic surgeon who is conflicted over his role in the Cadenas' North American operations; and Shay Roundtree ("Drumline") as Junie Gatling, one of Klein's go-to men in the trenches of the drug trade.

"Kingpin" is produced by NBC Studios and Spelling Television, Inc. Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent are executive producers along with two-time Emmy winner David Mills ("The Corner", "ER"). Dan Sackheim is co-executive producer. Allen Coulter ("The Sopranos") directs the pilot episode from a script by Mills.

NBC Brodcast History

February 2003 - February 2003 -- Sundays & Tuesdays 10:00PM Two-time Emmy Award-winning executive producer/writer David Mills ("The Corner," "ER," and "NYPD Blue") has created NBC's gritty new series "Kingpin." In this stylized drama, the struggles and machinations of a powerful Mexican drug-trafficking family are displayed in graphic detail as they face challenges from both the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and from the dangerous...

Gimme Shelter

Aired: Tuesday February 18, 2003

Kingpin ends on a quiet moment, with Miguel accepting Chato back into his life, but opens with a bang as Delia goes against Doug Duffy's orders and ends up saving Undercover Bobby's life during the raid on Truck's club. Dr. Benben tries out a professional bodyguard, but ends up pairing up with Junie. Things with La Corporacion are kind of a mess, but everything works out for the best after Miguel pays the CIA $20 million and the Senator is strangled by a bolo tie. Yes, a bolo tie.

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Bobby CannavaleChato Cadena (photos)
Yancey AriasMiguel Cadena (photos)
Sheryl LeeMarlene McDillon
Brian BenbenDr. Heywood Klein (photos)
Ruben CarbajalJoey Cadena

8.3
00
ssimonds1
member since: Apr 10, 2007
The Bottom Line: "Ahead of its time"
The Mexican Godfather ...Continue »
I love gangster movies and well crafted gangster TV shows. Kingpin definately falls into the later catagory. It is hard to do organized crime dramas on network TV without them becoming campy and unbelivable. Kingpin is neither.

All though there are time when thing are a little over the top (Danny Trejo as the voodoo practicing cousin) I think the mini-series as a whole more than makes up for it You could almost think of Danny Trejo and Brian Benben as comic relief.

It is too bad that NBC chose to leave Kingpin as a mini series instead of rolling the dice and trying it as a regular series. It's a much better idea than, oh let's say, Heist.

Kingpin is worth finding on DVD.
04/16/07 05:27pm | report abuse
8
11
Foxxx
member since: Apr 27, 2003
The Bottom Line: "Needs fine-tuning"
A good show, but has its flaws. ...Continue »
Kingpin was an interesting show about several characters whose lives are affected by drug trafficking, including a United States Drug Enforcement Agent, a plastic surgeon, and the Mexican family behind the trafficking. The closest thing I can compare this show to is the movie or miniseries Traffic. While I personally liked this show, I did find several flaws in it. The most obvious one is the fact that early in the story, it seemed to focus on the drug family in Mexico, and the countless problems they must overcome in taking part in such a business. Toward the end of this miniseries though, it seemed to lose that focus, and wound up being based more on the DEA trying to stop drug trafficking in the US. It just felt like sloppy writing in my oppinion. Another problem I had with this show was the fact that it had no real conclusion. It sort of just "ended" without resolving some of the storylines. This show was a miniseries, meaning there was never any intention on there ever being a second season, but it's pretty hard to tell that based on the incomplete ending. Still, I enjoed this show for what it was and would recommend it to someone who enjoys stories about the world of drug trafficking.
11/24/05 02:37pm | report abuse