Netflix's bold move to rename the fourth installment of its highly popular crime drama to “Narcos: Mexico” has been met with controversy. With “Narcos: Mexico” set to air in a few months, fans may still be wondering why the show had to reset its cast – especially its main characters – for the fourth season since the reset's announcement.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “Narcos: Mexico” showrunner Eric Newman mentions that the shift of focus to the Guadalajara cartel's rise and fall means that a return to the '70s and '80s was inevitable. The fact that events in “Narcos: Mexico” would essentially overlap and also predate events in the shows original three seasons means that only certain characters would be essential to the upcoming installment's storytelling.
When asked about the future of the series's established characters, Newman mentions that gathering a new set of actors for “Narcos: Mexico” was always the plan after the previous season wrapped up the Cali Cartel storyline. Fans may remember that “Narcos” season 3's Cali Cartel storyline ends sometime in the mid-'90s. Newman reminds viewers that while each season's characters are as fleshed out as possible, the true main character of the show – even as “Narcos: Mexico's” broadcast approaches – remains to be the cocaine and the drug war.
While the new cast and setting for the series is more or less set in stone, Newman does mention that fans can still expect familiar faces to show up in “Narcos: Mexico.” One of the fan theories about familiar faces in the upcoming installment includes a potential “Narcos: Mexico” cameo from a younger Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal). The theory is based on a scene from the third season's finale where Peña mentions the manhunt for Kiki Camarena (Michael Peña) in Guadalajara being one of his first assignments fresh out of the academy.
Fans looking forward to discovering the new setting and characters of “Narcos: Mexico” can catch the series when it is officially available for streaming on Netflix by Nov. 16.


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