Narcos: Mexico is the best season yet, says executive producer

Executive producer Eric Newman, and actors Michael Pena and Diego Luna, were in Mumbai on Monday to promote the show
Narcos: Mexico is the best season yet, says executive producer

Narcos, the hit Netflix original series, is gearing up for the release of its fourth season, Narcos: Mexico. With the story shifting from Colombia, where the first three seasons were set, to Mexico, executive producer Eric Newman, and actors Michael Pena and Diego Luna, were in Mumbai on Monday to promote the show. Alia Bhatt and Shakun Batra (of Kapoor and Sons-fame) moderated the event.

Newman opened up by talking about how cocaine replaced communism as the enemy in the 90s. "There wasn't much awareness about drugs in the mainstream media, except for a stray episode of Miami Vice. But then again, in a two-hour film format, you can't get to know a character as anything but bad. Reality is far more complex and can be best showcased in a longer format." He talked about Pablo Escobar as a clear example, and how they did not shy away from discussing on Narcos the things he did, and that included both his love for children as well as him killing people.

Talking about the upcoming season, he said, "The plan was always to take us back in time and go to Mexico. The drug war is still going on with many of the same players. We learned it's impossible to talk about the drug war in Mexico without telling the story of Guadalajara cartel and Kiki Camarena, and to jump in midway would be a disservice. It's the beginning of the Mexican chapter. It was incredibly difficult to abandon what people had grown to love (the Colombian setting). But the challenge is to raise the bar and Narcos: Mexico is our best season yet. And among the prime reasons for this are Pena and Luna, who have made this an authentic show."

Diego Luna and Micheal Pena talked about the research they did. Pena said, "I spoke with Mika Camarena (Kiki the DEA agent), his wife and learned that he was a person who was fed up about injustice. Quite unlike my character in Ant-Man." Diego Luna, who plays Felix Gallardo the leader of the Guadalajara cartel, said, "It was very difficult to find images of his intimate world. Many of these characters in the show are flamboyant, but Felix knew the value of being discreet. He's a different kind of drug dealer, someone who was willing to leave everything behind. Usually, drug dealers build big ugly houses. This guy though left to Guadalajara," adding, "Narcos: Mexico is about the foundation of today's situation. When I grew up in Mexico in the 80s, I didn't understand the reality of it."

Newman neither confirmed nor denied a Season 5. Narcos: Mexico premieres worldwide on Netflix on November 16.

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