Plot

Season		Episodes		Originally released
1	10		August 28, 2015
2	10		September 2, 2016

Season 1 (2015)

Season 1 chronicles the life of Pablo Escobar from the late 1970s, when he first began manufacturing cocaine, to July 1992. The show chronicles the main events that happened in Colombia during this period and Escobar’s relationship to them. It is told through the perspective of Steve Murphy, an American DEA agent working in Colombia. The series depicts how Escobar first became involved in the cocaine trade in Colombia. He was an established black marketeer in Medellín, moving trucks worth of illegal goods (alcohol, cigarettes, and household appliances) into Colombia during a time when this was strictly forbidden, when introduced to Mateo “Cockroach” Moreno, a Chilean exile and underground chemist , Moreno producing and Escobar distributing a new, profitable drug-cocaine. They expand beyond Moreno’s small cocaine processing lab by building additional, larger labs in the rainforest and, using the expertise of Carlos Lehder , transport their product to Miami, where it earns notoriety amongst the rich and famous. Soon enough, Pablo develops larger labs and more extensive distribution into the USA to supply growing demand. With cocaine’s growth into a drug of importance in the American market, One That accounts for a wide flow of US dollars to Colombia and escalating drug-related violence in the United States, the Americans send a task force from the DEA to Colombia to address the outcome. Murphy is partnered with Javier Peña. The purpose of Murphy’s task force is to work with the Colombian authorities to put an end to the flow of cocaine into the United States. Escobar’s Escape from the Catedral Prison.

Season 2 (2016)

Season 2 is a continuation of. Some soldiers find Escobar and his entourage right outside the perimeter of La Catedral, but are too petrified by Escobar to make an arrest. At the embassy, ​​the United States sends a new ambassador who brings the CIA into play. In the beginning, there is little change for Escobar, as he still has the loyalty of his cartel. Escobar needs to use a lot of time and resources to hide from the government. Among the tricks he used to avoid being seen in the trunk of a taxi cab, and using young lookouts to report police movements to him.

Initially, Escobar can be easily adapted to his new life, giving money to the community while ruthlessly killing those who tried to break away from his empire. The Colombian police and Escobar engage in massive battles, resulting in high tension and unrest in Colombia. Escobar’s rivals in the Cali cartel form an unlikely alliance with ousted members of his own cartel, as well as with a CIA-backed anti-communist paramilitary. Agent Peña secretly works with this group, which kill members of Pablo’s organization and claim responsibility as “Los Pepes.” After two of Escobar’s top cartel members are caught and betray him, he goes on the run. Escobar and his bodyguard hide in a safehouse where he celebrates his 44th birthday. When Pablo tries to make contact with his family, The DEA and military track him down via radio triangulation and corner him on the rooftops. Pablo is a shootout, and he can survive his injuries, a Colombian policeman executes him. Escobar’s wife Tata goes to the Cali cartel for their help in leaving the country. Peña returns to the United States and is asked to provide intelligence against the Cali cartel.

Cast

Main cast

• Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar – a Colombian drug lord and the leader of the Medellín Cartel (Season 1-2)
• Boyd Holbrook as Steve Murphy – a DEA agent tasked with bringing down Escobar (Season 1-2) ^[6]
• Pedro Pascal as Javier Peña – a DEA agent tasked with bringing down Escobar
• Joanna Christie as Connie Murphy ^[7] – Steve’s wife, a nurse who works in the local hospital
• Juan Pablo Raba as Gustavo Gaviria – Escobar’s cousin and one of the founding members of the Medellín Cartel (main Season 1; guest Season 2)
• Maurice Account as Horacio Carrillo – a Colombian police chief, based on Colonel Hugo Martinez ^[8] [9] (main Season 1, recurring Season 2)
• Diego Cataño as Juan Diego “The Quica” Diaz – an assassin routinely hired by the Medellín, based on Dandeny Muñoz Mosquera
• Jorge A. Jimenez as Roberto “Poison” Ramos – a hitman hired by the Medellín Cartel, who often argues with Quica about personal death counts (Season 1)
• Paulina Gaitan as Tata Escobar – Escobar’s wife, based on Maria Henao
• Paulina García as Hermilda Gaviria – Escobar’s mother, a Colombian teacher schoolteacher
• Stephanie Sigman as Valeria Vélez – a Colombian journalist who also serves as Pablo Escobar’s mistress, based on Virginia Vallejo ^[10] [11] (main Season 1, recurring Season 2)
• Bruno Bichir as Fernando Duque – a Colombian lawyer who represents Pablo Escobar, acting as his liaison with the Colombian government
• Raúl Méndez as César Gaviria – a Colombian economist and politician and the 28th President of Colombia
• Manolo Cardona as Eduardo Sandoval – the Vice Minister of Justice in Gaviria’s administration ^[12]
• Cristina Umana as Judy Moncada – a leader in the Medellín Cartel who, after Escobar murdered her husband Kiko, led a breakaway cartel and allied with the Cali Cartel and Los Pepes ; She is based on the real-life Dolly Moncada ^[13] (main Season 2, recurring Season 1)
• Alberto Ammann as Helmer “Pacho” Herrera – a Colombian drug lord and high-ranking member of the Cali Cartel (main Season 2, recurring Season 1)
• Damian Alcazar as Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela – the Leader of the Cali Cartel and one of Pablo Escobar’s primary rivals (Season 2)
• Eric Lange as Bill Stechner – the CIA Station Chief in Colombia (Season 2)

Recurring characters

• Julián Díaz as El Negro or “Blackie” (born Nelson Hernández) – a member of the Medellín Cartel, who is often seen by Escobar’s side (in real life, Escobar had a close friend named Jorge “El Negro” Pabon ¹⁴ )
• Jon-Michael Ecker as El Lion or “The Lion” – a childhood friend of Escobar’s who becomes his first drug smuggler into Miami and subsequently runs Escobar’s Miami operations pila
• Richard T. Jones as CIA Officer – a CIA officer, also on Murphy’s Task Force (recurring Season 1, guest Season 2)
• Patrick St. Esprit as Colonel Lou Wysession – a Marine officer fighting against communism (recurring Season 1, guest Season 2)
• Luis Guzmán as Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha – founding member and leader of the Medellín Cartel (Season 1)
• Juan Riedinger as Carlos Lehder – Lion’s Touch in the United States, Season 1
• André Mattos as Jorge Ochoa – founding member and leader of the Medellín Cartel (Season 1)
• Roberto Urbina as Fabio Ochoa – a high-ranking member of the Medellín Cartel (Season 1)
• Ana de la Reguera as Elisa Alvarez ^[12] – the co-leader of guerrilla faction 19th of April Movement (M-19) (Season 1)
• Danielle Kennedy as Ambassador Noonan – a United States Ambassador deployed to Colombia under Ronald Reagan (Season 1)
• Thaddeus Phillips as Agent Owen – a CIA agent on the Colombia task force (Season 1)
• Ariel Sierra as Sureshot – one of Escobar’s sicarios (Season 1)
• Carolina Gaitán as Marta Ochoa – the Ochoas’ sister, who is kidnapped by M-19 (Season 1)
• Laura Perico as Marina Ochoa – The Ochoas’ sister, who has an affair with Escobar’s cousin Gustavo (Season 1)
• Vera Mercado as Ana Gaviria – The Wife of César Gaviria and the First Lady of Colombia (Season 1)
• Leynar Gomez as Limón – A pimp and taxi driver from Medellín who becomes one of Escobar’s sicarios , based on Alvaro de Jesús Agudelo (aka “El Limón”) (Season 2)
• Martina García as Maritza – an old friend of Limon’s roped into unwittingly helping Escobar (Season 2)
• Brett Cullen as Ambassador Arthur Crosby – Season 2, by George HW Bush in 1992, replacing Noonan (Season 2)
• Germán Jaramillo as Gustavo de Greiff , Colombia’s Attorney General and vehement critic of President Gaviria’s drug policy (Season 2 ^[15] )

Special guest appearances

• Luis Gnecco as Mateo Moreno or “Cockroach” – the Chilean chemist who first introduced Escobar to cocaine trafficking
• AJ Buckley as Kevin Brady
• Adria Arjona as Helena
• Rafael Cebrián as Alejandro Ayala
• Dylan Bruno as Barry Seal – an American drug smuggler working for the Medellín Cartel who uses the alias “McPickle”
• Adan Canto as Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla – a Colombian lawyer and politician
• Gabriela de la Garza as Diana Turbay – a Colombian journalist who was kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel
• Adrián Jiménez as Colonel Herrera – a DAS agent
• Aldemar Correa as Iván Torres – a Colombian guerrilla fighter and communist, based on Iván Ospina
• Julián Beltrán as Alberto Suarez
• Juan Pablo Espinosa as Luis Galán – a Colombian journalist and politician

Production

The series was announced in April 2014, through a partnership deal between Netflix and Gaumont International Television . The series is Primarily written by Chris Brancato and directed by Brazilian filmmaker José Padilha , Who directed the Critically Commercially successful and Elite Squad (2007), before directing icts sequel in 2010, qui est devenu the highest-grossing movie ever in Brazil. ^[16]

Opening theme and title sequence

Title card

Narcos opens with a title card, from which the narrator reads: ” Magical realism is defined as what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe. ^[17] [18]

Opening theme

Narcos ‘ opening theme, “Tuyo”, is a Bolero written and composed for the show by Brazilian singer-songwriter Rodrigo Amarante . ^[19]

Visual editing

DK Studios under artistic director Tom O’Neill. The 1980s-themed images address, the United States’ attempt to control it, the era’s glamor, footage from the mountainous regions of Bogota and surrounding underprivileged neighbors, shots of local residents, archival news coverage, and violence. The mounting excludes Some People Who Were Unwilling to Appear in the credits, aim it does include Some News clips and pictures “of Pablo Escobar and his circle, like Those at the zoo, [which] cam Directly from the drug baron’s personal photographer, Who Goes by the name El Chino. ” According to O’Neill, “the production team took inspiration from James Mollison’s photo book ‘

Etymology

In Spanish, the term “narco” is an abbreviation of the word ” narcotraficante ” ( drug trafficker ). ^[24] Before this use in the United States, the epithet “narc” (or “narco”) Referred to a specialist officer of a narcotics Police Force, Such As a DEA agent. ^[25] [26]

Reception

Season 1

Season		Critical response
		Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1	78% (45 reviews)	77 (19 reviews)
2	90% (20 reviews)	76 (13 reviews)

First of all. Rotten Tomatoes a review aggregator surveyed 45% to be positive. The site reads, ” Narcos lacks sympathetic characters, but pulls in the viewer with solid acting and a story that’s fast-paced enough to distract from its familiar outline.” ^[27] On Metacritic , Season 1 holds a score of 77 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating “Generally favorable reviews”. ^[28] IGN gave the first season a 7.8 out of 10 score, saying “It’s a true-to-life account, sometimes to a fault, Of the rise of Pablo Escobar and the hunt that brought him down with stellar performances and tension-filled stand-offs. ^{Its blend of archival footage reminds us that the horrors depicted to have an Escobar that is indefensible but frighteningly sympathetic. ” [29]}

Writing for Philadelphia Inquirer , Tirdad Derakhshani, “Intense, enlightening, brilliant, unnerving, and addictive, Narcos is high-concept drama at its finest.” ^[30] Television Critic, Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter , “The Series Begins to Find Its Pace not Long After,” and we see the strength of Moura’s acting, which to his credit never races, in the early “Narcos”, “Narcos”, “Narcos”, “Narcos” and “Narcos.” ^[31] Nancy deWolf Smithof Wall Street Journal wrote, ”

Season 2

The second Season reviews have generated Greater Compared to the previous season . Rotten Tomatoes , a review aggregator , surveyed 20 reviews and judged 90% to be positive. The site reads, ” Narcos’sophomore season manages to elevate the stakes to a gut-wrenching degree in what a magnificent account of Pablo Escobar’s life.” ^[36] On Metacritic , Season 2 holds a score of 76 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating “favorable reviews”. ^[37] IGN gave the second season a score of 7.4 out of 10, calling it “Good” and wrote “It may go overboard with its love of Pablo Escobar,

Season 2, Season 2 Joshua Alston of the AV Club lauded the performance of Moura’s and said, “While the show never soft-pedals the Escobar created havoc, it makes him surprisingly sympathetic, thanks in part to Moura’s shrewd, affecting performance.” ^[39] Critic Neil Genzlinger of New York Times said, “Mr. Moura is insrutably brilliant at the center of it all.” ^[40] Entertainment Weekly ‘ s Jeff Jensen also has positively saying, “Where season 1 spanned 10 years, season 2 captures Escobar’ s last days on the loose.” Each tightly packed episode moves quickly without sacrificing richness, ^[41] Television Critic, Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said, “What works in the early going of a couple of years is more than thrilling, if not engaging , Than the buildup. Escobar senses the loss of power and Moura does some of his best work as he reads the worry and interior thinking on his face. ” ^[42]

Accolades

Season 1

Category	Recipient (s)	result	Ref.
68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
Outstanding Main Title Design	Tom O’Neill, Nik Kleverov, David Badounts, Josh Smith	Nominated
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music	Rodrigo Amarante	Nominated
Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series	Leo Trombetta (Episode: “Descenso”)	Nominated
73rd Golden Globe Awards
Best Television Series – Drama		Nominated	[43]
Best Actor – Television Series Drama	Wagner Moura	Nominated
2016 British Academy Television Awards
Best International Program	José Padilha Eric Newman Chris Brancato	Nominated	[44]
20th Satellite Awards
Best Drama Series		Nominated	[45]
Writers Guild of America Awards 2015
Best Episodic Drama	Andy Black (Episode: “Explosivos”}	Nominated	[46]
2015 Hollywood Music in Media Awards
Original Score – TV Show / Digital Series	Pedro Bromfman	Nominated	[47]

Season 2

Category	Recipient (s)	result	Ref.
2016 Hollywood Music in Media Awards
Best Main Title – TV Show / Digital Streaming Series	Kyle Dixon Michael Stein	Nominated	[48] [49]
43rd People’s Choice Awards
Favorite Premium Drama Series		Nominated	[50]

References