People have been enthralled by the life of Pablo since before Kanye dropped his album. The Netflix series chronicling the life of infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar is fantastical, violent, and provocative, striking a great balance between historical events and myth. Earlier this year, Wagner Moura confirmed what history had already shown; Pablo Escobar would die this season, which sparked the season 2 tagline “who killed Pablo?”. For executive producer Eric Newman, the death of Pablo doesn’t necessarily mean the death of Narcos.
According to Variety, Newman has stated “I hope there’s life for the show after Escobar. Cocaine regrettably continues on. It is an ongoing story. I’ve always been interested in the Mexican story because it’s so big, I mean, beginning with Felix Gallardo and on from there.” The material for a series continuation is definitely there. Felix “El Padrino” Gallardo ruled the drug trafficking empire of Mexico during the 1980s, formed the Guadalajara Cartel, was protected by both the DFS and the CIA, and controlled the drug trade along the Mexico-United States border. If the series chooses to continue, fans can be certain that it will not be lacking in source material and the drama and violence the series thrives on that is so alluring.
The real DEA agent, Steve Murphy, who the character of the same name is based on, has also opened up on his feelings towards the show and its portrayal of real events and people. At the shows premier this past Wednesday at the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood, Murphy said “This is going to sound cliche, but I think Eric Newman, Netflix, and the writers did an outstanding job. I have no problem with it. I think they have portrayed us as larger than life characters and it’s a little embarrassing, but also flattering.”
Murphy also spoke on the shows emphasis on humanizing Escobar in the series, something that Newman says is integral to the shows success. “I actually think it’s dangerous to dehumanize a villain like Escobar because it says that someone is just spontaneously created and they spring into the world as bad guys and it doesn’t work that way,” Newman said. “Bad guys are made. To deny someone their humanity is to miss the point that anyone under the wrong circumstances can become a Pablo Escobar. What we did as a country by creating this demand for cocaine — hey, someone was going to fill that vacuum and it ended being him.”
Unless Roberto Escobar, the brother of Pablo, has anymore to say on the issue, fans can expect all 10 episodes of Narcos season 2 to premiere September 2 on Netflix.