Netflix's gritty crime drama Narcos was originally meant to have four seasons, but this plan was changed, resulting in a spiritual successor set in Mexico. The original Narcos tells the story of Colombia's cocaine trade under the drug lord Pablo Escobar, and its success sparked a new wave of drug lord shows like Narcos. Narcos ran for three seasons, with the first two focusing on Escobar's rise to power, and the third on the aftermath when Escobar is killed. While Narcos made some changes to the real story, the show was critically acclaimed and ended with people wanting more.
With Escobar dead and the Cali cartel leaving the drug business, it appeared that Narcos had come to a natural end. However, Escobar was not the only drug lord operating in the 1980s and 90s, when Narcos was set. Rather than continue the story in Colombia, the Narcos team turned their attention to Mexico and the real-life drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. Though Narcos: Mexico is not a direct sequel, the decision to tell a different person's story in a new setting kept the Narcos series compelling and was ultimately the right decision.
Narcos: Mexico Worked Better As Its Own Thing Than As Narcos Season 4
Pablo Escobar Cameo Confirmed That Narcos And Narcos: Mexico Exist In The Same Universe
Narcos: Mexico began when the drug trade in Mexico was mostly small independent businesses. Gallardo is slightly less well-known than Escobar, so explaining the wide range of characters and affiliations necessary to tell his story was a large undertaking. While the shows are set in the same universe, Narcos: Mexico was complex enough to feel like a standalone series rather than a continuation of Narcos. The intricate story and new setting meant that Narcos: Mexico worked better on its own in lieu of Narcos season 4. However, Narcos: Mexico kept the spirit of the original series while allowing the occasional crossover.
Series | Year | Drug Lord | Rotten Tomatoes critics | Rotten Tomatoes audience |
Narcos | 2015 - 2017 | Pablo Escobar / Cali cartel | 89% | 95% |
Narcos: Mexico | 2018 - 2021 | Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo | 90% | 70% |
Though Narcos and Narcos: Mexico are distinctly different stories, they exist within the same timeline, which was confirmed when some Narcos characters made cameo appearances in Narcos: Mexico. This included the legendary Pablo Escobar himself. Escobar, played by Wagner Moura, appears in a short scene that involves Escobar using his pet hippos to threaten Gallardo. The scene may not have been strictly true to life, but it has been considered one of the best scenes in Narcos: Mexico. Confirming that the two shows were connected makes it likely that future Narcos shows may include more cameos.
Why Narcos Season 3 Was The Right Time To End The Pablo Escobar Show
The Narcos Team Are Now Telling Another Drug Lord's Story
Narcos season 2 ended with Pablo Escobar being shot dead, and season 3 dealt with the aftermath. Dedicating season 3 to the fates of the main characters allowed Narcos to wrap up the central story while highlighting other central Narcos characters. This focus on other characters like DEA agent Javier Peña, played by Pedro Pascal, also allowed for more realism, as the real Peña worked as a consultant for the show. Pedro Pascal left Narcos after season 3 as planned, because with Escobar dead, his Narcos story had concluded, and there were other drug lords with stories to tell.
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Netflix's New Crime Drama Is The Perfect Narcos Replacement, 3 Years After Hit Spinoff
The Sofía Vergara-led Netflix series Griselda shares many thematic similarities with the celebrated Narcos but still makes sure to tell its own story.
The Narcos creators' new show centers on another drug lord. Sofia Vergara stars in Griselda, which focuses on the story of the formidable Griselda Blanco, who Pablo Escobar described as "the only man I was ever afraid of." The Narcos and Griselda showrunner, Eric Newman, decided not to connect the two shows so that he could tell Blanco's unique story without forcing a link to the previous Narcos shows, which new viewers may not have seen. While Pablo Escobar does not appear in Griselda, the show serves as a spiritual successor to Narcos, and returns to the same dangerous industry.
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