"Narcos" showrunner Eric Newman talked about the future of the Pablo Escobar drama following the release of Season 2 on Netflix last week. Meanwhile, Wagner Moura - who plays the nefarious drug kingpin - has been confirmed to depart the series.
Now on its second season, "Narcos" will continue to tackle the reign and terror of Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. However, his inevitable death by the end of Season 2 will mean that the show's central character would have to be written-off completely from its storyline.
On that note, executive producer Eric Newman talked about the show's future in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He said that even without Pablo, there are still more stories to be told about "Narcos." As he points out, the acclaimed Netflix drama is not about the Colombian drug lord, but about the vicious cycle of drug trade worldwide.
"The show, since its inception, has never been about Pablo Escobar," Newman told the publication
"Narcos is about cocaine and cocaine continues beyond Escobar. And now we're dealing with the guys that took over for him. That's how we look at Escobar."
Since "Narcos" Season 2 will see the death of Pablo, this event will also mark the departure of lead actor Wagner Moura from the show. Newman confirmed the actor's upcoming exit, saying that Moura already knew since he was only booked for a two-season arc.
"For the characters, particularly for Wagner, it was an understanding from the beginning that we were going to tell this story in two years."
While Netflix has yet to renew "Narcos" for Season 3, Newman already dropped hints about the new bunch of episodes back in July. According to Deadline, the showrunner told reporters at the TCA press tour that they plan to tackle the Cali Cartel after the death of Pablo.
"The successors to Medellín were the Cali cartel, who had been No. 2 to Escobar and they liked it that way, but soon realized they had to get rid of him - and they are big part of Season 2."