Is Narcos cancelled? The future of the franchise

It's been confirmed that the third season of Narcos: Mexico, which will premiere on Netflix on November 5, will be the series' final outing.

"The cage is open, and now the animals run free," tweeted the show's official account alongside the news that it would be the final chapter in this particular story.

For the first time in the show's history, the action will be narrated by a woman. Luisa Rubino picks up the mantle from Scoot McNairy, Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook as journalist Andrea Nuñez, whose focus on exposing corruption leads her to the biggest scoop of her career.

It's not an especially surprising announcement given that its predecessor Narcos also wrapped up after three seasons, and the fact that it has even made it this far is worthy of celebration when you consider how many titles have been canned by the streamer after just one instalment.

But is this really the last we'll see of the Narcos franchise?

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter back in February 2020 about how long the show could run for, former showrunner Eric Newman said that they would "go on as long as they let us and as long as the drug war rages – which, as you know, there is no end in sight."

Narcos' first two seasons centred on Pablo Escobar and his activities in Columbia, with season three revolving around the Cali Cartel following his death. We then found ourselves drafted to Mexico, with Diego Luna assuming the central role as drug lord Félix Gallardo. But there are myriad other kingpins and cartels spanning various other geographic locations, each with their own identities and narratives, that lend themselves to dramatisation.

According to THR, the show's executive producers have discussed looking beyond the Americas.

"Unfortunately, the drug war is going to continue for a long time, with no sign of stopping, so there's no shortage of material," Newman said last year (via Golden Globes).

Both Narcos and its companion series are also both set before the turn of the millennium, with the past two decades and the way in which the drugs trade and its major players have adapted and evolved not currently part of the franchise's focus.

There's currently no word on what the future holds for Narcos, but with countless other avenues to explore, we'd expect the ball to carry on rolling in some capacity given audience appetite for such stories. In the meantime, this is what viewers can expect from season three: "Set in the '90s, when the globalisation of the drug business ignites, season three examines the war that breaks out after Felix's arrest.

"As newly independent cartels struggle to survive political upheaval and escalating violence, a new generation of Mexican kingpins emerge. But in this war, truth is the first casualty – and every arrest, murder and take-done only pushes real victory further away."

The following faces will all be back: McNairy (DEA agent Walt Breslin), José María Yázpik (Amado Carrillo Fuentes), Alfonso Dosal (Benjamín Arellano Félix), Matt Letscher (DEA agent James Kuykendall), Mayra Hermosillo (Enedina Arellano Felix), Manuel Masalva (Ramón Arellano Félix), Alejandro Edda (Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán), and Gorka Lasaosa (Héctor Palma).

And alongside Rubino, a several other new characters are also joining the fold: Luis Gerardo Méndez (Juarez cop Victor Tapia), Alberto Guerra (drug trafficker Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada),and rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio aka "Bad Bunny" (Arturo "Kitty" Paez, one of Ramon Arellano Felix's gang members).

Carlo Bernard has taken over the role of showrunner from Newman, who is tied up with other filming commitments. But he has remained on board as an executive producer.

All ten episodes of Narcos: Mexico season three will be available to stream on Netflix from Friday, November 5.

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