Netflix had already made big strides at appealing to global audiences in late 2014 with the lavishly budgeted Marco Polo. But its newest original series, Narcos, may prove to have an even greater appeal with the story of Colombia’s most notorious bad guy, Pablo Escobar.
Narrated by DEA agent Steve Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook), it’s made for fans of Scorsese movies and chronicles Escobar’s journey from small-time smuggler to head of the Medellin cartel during the cocaine-fueled ‘80s. The fact that the streaming giant has ordered a second season only means more people are likely to discover it.
There’s a lot of creative power by way of Brazil on Narcos, which was shot on location in Colombia and boasts a well-rounded international cast. Director José Padilha (Elite Squad, Robocop) is an executive producer and directed the first two episodes, while fellow brasileiro Wagner Moura gets the challenging yet exhilarating task of bringing Pablo to life onscreen. A renowned actor who has worked with Padilha before, Moura imbues the character with enough complexity that you forgive the Brazilian accent.
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Then there’s the music. Rio de Janeiro born and raised composer Pedro Bromfman created the hauntingly beautiful score for the series, and is on board to reprise his critical behind-the-scenes role in season 2. And Rodrigo Amarante, who recently released his debut solo album Cavalo, wrote and performed Narcos’ entrancing theme song, “Tuyo.” In a memorable scene from the first episode, we see Pablo in a bar, deep in a conversation with “Cockroach” about how well he thinks his product will sell in Miami. Suddenly, he hears a familiar tune and starts singing along to a few verses from “Tuyo.” The track, custom written for the series, debuted at No. 13 on Latin Digital Songs in the chart dated Sept. 19 and No. 6 on Latin Pop Digital Songs. It’s Amarante’s first charting song, but we get the feeling it won’t be his last.
Billboard spoke to both Los Angeles-based creatives separately over the phone about how they contributed layers of color and intrigue to the story.