This Chilean crime drama follows a quartet of fugitives as they go on the run after a drug deal goes very wrong. They are a very mixed group; Vicente Ferragut, a member of a powerful crime family; Óscar Salamanca, a former left wing opposition fighter; Mario Moreno, a brutal man who worked as a torturer for the previous right wing regime and Álvaro 'Tegui' Parraguez, an undercover police officer. The series starts with them smuggling a shipment of liquid cocaine into Chile from Bolivia; they head to the port at Valparaiso and the sale turns out to be an ambush. They flee and find themselves pursued by both police and other criminals. It soon becomes apparent that there are people in authority who are corrupt who are determined to keep details of what happened quiet so good cop Parraguez is considered a fugitive too. Over the course of the first season they travel through Chile, hiding out, dealing with various people who cross them and trying to get to the border with Argentina. After certain events at the end of the season the dynamics change but their problems are far from over as they divide and form new alliances.I don't think I've seen any Chilean shows before but if this is anything to go by I'll have to keep my eye out for more... it was excellent. It certainly won't be for everybody; there are moments of extreme violence as well as sexually disturbing scenes. The characters are an interesting bunch; some are more sympathetic than others... some are without any redeeming features. Moreno is one of the least pleasant characters I've seen in any show; he is truly vile; Luis Gnecco does a great job bringing the character to life without making him a pantomime villain. There are several secondary characters who are almost as bad. The rest of the main cast is solid too; most notably Benjamín Vicuña and Néstor Cantillana who play Tegui and Vincente and Camila Hirane who plays Salamanca's beautiful but troubled daughter Irma who gets caught up in the action. The story is told at a good pace with action in every episode; it also shows off some fine scenery from the Bolivian border in the north to Punta Arenas in the far south. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of crime dramas who are looking for something a little different.These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles.

No trace of realism whatsoever.HBO has had some very good series but this one makes the old Kung-Fu movies look good.Whoever wrote the fight scenes has obviously never been in one.Not only that,it is visually gross.The fat,out of shape tub of lard that always manages to beat up everyone is a bad joke.There is no trace of subtlety in the entire series.What a waste of my time.

You may not have heard of this show if you don't speak Spanish. Profugos is an exciting adrenaline pumping series filmed for HBO Latino. Profugos, or "Fugitives" has everything fans of Breaking Bad or The Soprano's crave. Drugs, Sex, Violence, Mystery.. it's all there. The show centers around a four guys who end up running for their lives after a botched drug deal. Excellent locations in this original series. The Atacama desert was only one backdrop selected for this heart pounding drama. HBO did not disappoint their fans with this production. They put together the best talent available in Chile for the production. The end result is technically superb. Personally I have had the pleasure of working with HBO and OC Productions to transform Profugos into English for re-release as "Fugitives" in other countries. There is no doubt that Fugitives would be a huge hit in America. -- Zane Durant

An excellent HBO series set in Chile that follows in the tradition of other well received efforts, most notably, "Epitafios I and II" shot in Argentina. "Profugos" is worth watching because it shows the best of Chilean talent in action. The premise of the series is a drug deal that misfires. Cocaine is brought from Bolivia to Chile to be shipped from there overseas. The group involved is the Ferragut family controlled from prison by Kika, the matriarch. Her right hand man, Salamanca is a heartless criminal, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Salamanca's troubles go back to the Pinochet era. Vicente Feragut, the son of the woman in jail, must take a second role in the deal. The other members are, Mario Moreno, a man without scruples and an undercover policeman, Tegui.The processed drug comes to Chile aboard a gasoline truck. After crossing the border, the next stop is to get the cocaine in wine bottles to be exported. The operation is extremely professional. The initial drop off point was Iquique in the North of Chile, but then, plans are changed to Valparaiso, where a supporting team of the Ferraguts are in place to see that everything is transfer to a merchant ship. Unknown to Tegui, the Ferraguts have three snipers in place, and the police is undercover at the drop site waiting for them at the pier where a bloody battle ensues. The following chapters show to what extent these criminals will go in their fight against the forces that are following their steps. The direction is shared by Chilean Pablo Larrain, and Jonathan Jakubowicz from Venezuela. The vision of the writing team composed by Josefina Hernandez, Pablo Illanes, Mateo Iribarren and Pablo Videla, makes exciting television. With the resources of HBO, the end result is one of the best series about power, drug trafficking and law enforcement.The four principals do a wonderful job. Francisco Reyes, Nestor Cantillana, Luis Gnecco, and Benjamin Vicuna, a promising young actor whose career has expanded to other international films. The supporting cast is excellent as well, notably, Claudia Di Girolamo, Angelica Castro, Antonia Zegers, Blanca Lewin, Amparo Noguera. The beauty of the country comes through in the great cinematography by Sergio Armstrong that photographs the action throughout Chile in spectacular locations.