A project six years in the making brings a Cuban-American family’s legacy to life.
In the MGM+ series, Hotel Cocaine, “every pleasure has a price” when it comes to the excitement and temptation of the Miami nightlife scene in the late 1970s.
Actor Danny Pino plays Roman Compte, the owner of the infamous “Mutiny Hotel“, who reconnects with his brother, Nestor Cabal (Yul Vazquez), when suspicions rise over a massive drug cartel linked to the hotel.
The series portrays the real life Compte family whom Pino has grown close to after working with Maurice Compte on Mayans M.C. Pino says Compte shared his idea for the series with him six years ago. He described how special it was for him to play Compte’s father and portray some of the struggles he experienced.
“We talked about the psychology of a Cuban American or a Cuban who has to start over in Miami,” said Pino. “Trying to provide for his family and the pressures of that, and then being thrust into the epicenter of nightlife, temptation and oftentimes criminality,” said Pino.
While the 8-episode series focuses on two brothers and their life of crime, it was never lost on showrunner, Chris Brancato, that there are consequences to these actions.
“During the voiceover, Roman says that every pleasure has a price. And those consequences become much more visible…in order to maintain this hedonistic, adult paradise,” said Pino.
Season One of Hotel Cocaine is now streaming on MGM+