The world of TV production has been forever changed by Netflix. The streaming service is constantly producing a wealth of exciting content, with creatives able to have more control than cable and network television. Netflix is clearly not afraid to take risks, and Season 3 of the acclaimed crime drama Narcos is doing exactly that. The third season will pivot away from the hunt for Pablo Escobar (spoiler: they won) and focus on the DEA's battle against the Cali Cartel. Pedro Pascal's Javier Pena will become the lead character in Season 3, and we recently chatted about what makes the new season so different from its predecessors.
The short answer is that the Cali Cartel had its hand in so many places, that it makes the hunt for justice even more complicated and far reaching. But the subject matter is also more obscure, and audiences will have a harder time doing research for spoilers. Pedro Pascal told me,
People really watched the show as if they couldn't google it. You can look up what happened, basically. And with the Cali Cartel it's a little different, because you have to look a little harder. And as far as finding things out about Escobar, it's such a narrow focus; you look at the king. Cali's different. Not everyone knows who they were, how many there were. And that's what I like about the third season so much. Because despite it all being structured around actual events, you still cannot see the things coming. There's an unpredictable experience in watching the third season that I think we didn't have in the first and the second.
This certainly sounds like an intriguing way to keep Narcos fresh for its audience, and Season 3 seems like a wild ride. In a TV world that is chock full of spoilers, Narcos will be able to keep viewers on their toes now that Pablo Escobar is being left in the rear view.
I had the chance to speak with Pedro Pascal about Narcos Season 3 at Netflix's recent press junket in New York City. Pascal has been given quite the raise this year, as both Boyd Holbrook and Wagner Moura won't be back for the show's third season. The Game of Thrones alum spoke to the experience of missing his former co-stars, and revealed how it felt to welcome a new cast of characters into the Narcos familia.
It was almost like a shooting a new show in a sense. Because we bring in all of these incredible new characters. And so there was a freshness to that. For me, it was weird to be the guy who had been there from the beginning, and have all these fresh faces coming in. You know what? I'm glad that I didn't have screen time with Wagner, because then I would be missing him too much in the third season because he's such a wonderful guy.
There are certainly going to be a ton of new characters introduced in Season 3. The Cali Cartel's Godfathers will bring their own set of underlings and representatives, and new cast members include Sense8's Miguel Ángel Silvestre and Broad City's Arturo Castro. Be sure to check back with us here at CinemaBlend for more interviews from the cast.
Narcos Season 3 will be released in its entirety on September 1st on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our fall premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
