Not for the first time in its three-year-long run, Narcos is all set to rehash its characters and take on a whole new story arc. Yet, Narcos: Mexico comes with a long list of firsts.

Change of Scene

For the first time, the show moves out of the drug fields of Colombia, to Mexico, to chronicle the story of the Mexican Cartel headed by Felix Gallardo, played by Diego Luna.

Gallardo is an enterprising drug dealer who begins his business in Central Mexico. “Drug traffickers tend to stay in their town and build their life on everything they have,” said Diego Luna, speaking about his character. “Yet, he (Gallardo) leaves the North where he’s from, to build his empire in Central Mexico. He’s willing to leave everything behind if he sees an opportunity.”

Luna is quick to explain that Gallardo’s character isn’t quite the drug dealer stereotype. “Gallardo is a businessman,” said Luna, adding “he’s always one step ahead of everyone.”

Change of Guard

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), meanwhile, has also rung in the changes. Hollywood biggie Michael Pena makes his debut on the show, playing the role of undercover DEA agent, Kiki Camarena. Pena admits that playing Kiki was a challenge.

“There’s very little written about Kiki that I could use as a reference,” he said, while speaking at Netflix APAC Slate 2018, in Singapore. “I spoke to Kiki’s wife Mika Camarena before playing the role.”

Pena, however, believes that could be a good thing. “Sometimes, as an actor you can have paralysis from analysis — when you have too much information on a character,” said Pena. “Sometimes you only need one golden nugget of information.”

Change of Context

“We have switched our cast three times through the entire show,” said executive producer, Eric Newman. He added, “Narcos has been an incredible journey. It doesn’t lend itself to a two-hour format.”

Newman believes that novices to the Narcos franchise could possibly give Season 4 a shot, without having watched any of the previous seasons. “You can get the full picture, even if watch it before you watch seasons one, two and three,” he said. And that is why new audiences could look to start afresh, without necessarily watching previous episodes for context.

Some things, however, don’t change...

Like the fact that over 50 percent of the show is in Spanish, that two people could watch the show and have two completely different points of view, that the show continues its trend of ensuring that the cast speak in their native tongue, and that it’s shot in its actual setting.

Narcos: Mexico will begin streaming, on Netflix, on November 16.

First Published:Nov 9, 2018 9:16 AM IST