It's 1980s. It's Mexico. And drug war is all the rage in Netflix's Narcos: Mexico, which continues the legacy of the Narcos saga with a new cast, story and country.
From Colombia to Mexico, and from Pablo Escobar to Félix Gallardo of the Guadalajara Cartel, Narcos has expanded its universe to explore where the modern drug war began, trailing after its leading and most recurring character: cocaine.
At Netflix's "See What's Next: Asia" event held in Singapore earlier this month, the cast and crew of Narcos: Mexico were there to share the excitement over this reboot and companion piece to the original Narcos. In attendance were lead actors Diego Luna, playing drug kingpin Gallardo, and Michael Pena who portrays DEA agent Kiki Camarena, plus the show's executive producer Eric Newman. This show sees Luna and Pena re-teaming following Cesar Chavez, a 2014 film which Luna directed, with Pena as his lead actor.
Narcos: Mexico is the fourth season of the series, and also the first of the more-to-come Mexican tale. This season explores the rise of Gallardo in the Mexican drug trafficking arena to become El Padrino (The Godfather), while being pursued by Camarena.
In wiping the slate clean and starting over in a new territory, Newman said it has always been a plan to shift the narrative from Colombia to Mexico, to follow the trail led by the deadly white powder. He admitted it was a strange proposition for a filmmaker to reset their own work, but said the experience was rewarding in that it opens up an opportunity for the team to rebuild the show with Mexican talents.
"Despite the challenge, I think it's our best season," Newman said.
In preparation to play these real-life characters, both actors did some research and reading on their subjects.
"I read about him in Google and Wikipedia, and there's a certain video of him. Nothing really prepared me for the actual thing, which is kind of interesting about the show too because people know how it ends, but they don't know everything," said Pena who described his character as quiet and focused on his work.
Luna, whose character is now in his 70s and incarcerated, said he didn't meet with Gallardo as he's unsure how much he'd like to know the criminal's opinion. Still, he reads Gallardo's writings, and what people say and write of the drug lord as he feels it's more truthful and objective that way.
Luna views Gallardo as both a drug dealer and a businessman.
"His business is selling cocaine. That's a crime, but he's a businessman. The way he approached it was with the order and all the codes of a businessman, creating a corporation where the system is more important than one person, and clearly that works for a long time," said Luna. He said the challenging character drew him to the role, as well as the story that revolves around the 80s in his own country.
"It's a very important decade to understand where we are today. A lot of the relations we have with the US today can be explained because of this decade. The case of Kiki Camarena is pretty important to understand the politics between our countries," Luna said.
This is also the first time Luna -- who has made his name from Alfonso Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien and now with Star Wars -- plays a leading role in a TV series.
"As an actor, it's interesting to have 10 hours to tell a story of the character," he said. "TV is taking risks today that cinema is not willing to take. Today in TV, there's an urge to find new voice and narrative and format. That's kinda cool because it's bringing a lot of creativity. It's a nice place for exploration. So, I'm glad to join. It's a future."
Luna is also confident that everyone, regardless of where they live, will be able to relate to the story as the drug problem is interconnected everywhere in the world.
"I think it's not our problem or your problem. It's a problem we have in the world. The world is so connected now and drug trafficking is something we have to attack and approach as an international issue -- a universal problem.
"It's very unfair to say that the violence in Mexico belongs to Mexico," he said. "Most of the weapons used in the war in Mexico comes from the States. The bullets are bought legally in the States and used illegally in my country. The amount of violence that has happened in my country is very well connected to the US. It's very well connected to the rest of the world."
Working on this show gave both the cast and crew some insights about drugs.
"I believe it's a greatest threat to our stability -- way greater than terrorism. The drug war and the way we've chosen to fight it is only making things worse," said Newman.
"It's funny that people who are making the most money are the cartels and the Kardashians," Pena joked.
Newman hopes his audiences would gain a better understanding -- and especially the realisation that the problem is far from over.
"This is a never-ending cycle of tragedy and sorrow that's never going to get resolved until we start dealing with drugs globally as a healthcare crisis, and not as a law enforcement crisis," Newman said.
As in business, it's supply and demand that makes it all go around.
"As long as there's a market, there will be someone providing," said Luna.
Newman also teased the possibility of extending the Narcos world to other regions, even to Asia.
"Unfortunately, we can [do it] because there are drugs everywhere."
Coming soon to a small screen near you
Netflix also unveiled several upcoming original films, series and shows on its platform. These titles will be available in the coming months and further into 2019.
Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle
Andy Serkis brings yet another retelling of The Jungle Book tale in this motion-capture film with a stellar A-list cast including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch and Serkis himself just to name a few, plus wonder boy Rohan Chand as the titular Mowgli. Arguably better to watch on big screens with all its CGI, the film will have a limited theatrical release in the UK and US before coming to Netflix worldwide on Dec 7.
Kingdom
One of the most anticipated Asian series to come is Kingdom, which sees the historic Joseon dynasty of Korea under zombie attack. The struggle for power collides with an outbreak of a plague in this bloody and violent delight. Netflix, with every bit of confidence in this South Korean new favourite, has already announced plans for Season 2 even before the first season airs. Kingdom will be available on Jan 25.
Pacific Rim
The epic kaiju and jaeger battle will now become an animated series, which continues its story from the previous two live-action films. Craig Kyle (Thor: Ragnarok) and Greg Johnson (X-Men: Evolution) team up as the series' writers.
Altered Carbon
The animated series Altered Carbon is set in the same universe as Netflix's own live-action dystopian sci-fi series. A second season of the live-action series is also in production.
The Stranded
Thai filmmaker Sophon "Jim" Sakdaphisit (Laddaland and The Promise) directs this first Netflix-GMM Grammy mystery thriller series that sees a group of teenagers being stranded on an Andaman island following a tsunami. The teens struggle to survive amid frightening occurrences on the island.
Shimmers
Five teenagers in a faraway school in the north of Thailand are being haunted by ghosts of their past, as well as facing threats from supernatural presences. This drama-horror series is directed by Wisit Sasanatieng (The Unseeable) and Sittisiri Mongkolsiri (Last Summer).
