The Netflix crime drama will come to an end on Nov. 5.
Narcos: Mexico is back for a third season.
Netflix's crime drama will soon be dropping its third and final season, which will feature superstar Bad Bunny. Luis Gerardo Méndez, Alberto Guerra and Luisa Rubino all make their debut in the new episodes, which will take a look at the turmoil and violence that will arise after Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna) is arrested and new cartels attempt to take over.
Ahead of season 3's November premiere, here's everything -- from the new cast members and real-life characters to the timeline -- that ET knows about the new episodes of the true-crime series.
A spinoff of Narcos, which focused on Pablo Escobar’s reign as Colombia’s now-infamous drug lord, Mexico recounts the origin of the modern war on drugs in the country. Its first two seasons starred Luna as Gallardo as it chronicled the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s. But as it moves into its new season, the Netflix drama will give way to the history of what happened when Gallardo was out of the picture, stressing a key theme that runs throughout the entire series: The players may change from day to day but the systems that uphold them remain all but intact, even all these decades later.
"It's a system that creates these characters and gets rid of them when they're not needed anymore," Luna told ET ahead of the show’s second season. “In actuality, it's not good and bad. It is not good people chasing the bad guy. It's a system where corruption is present everywhere, and it's a system that involves government, police, military, banks on both sides of the border."
He added, "You can not change the system. It's the system that changes you."
How Season 2 Ended and What Season 3 Is About
As Gallardo got more and more confident that he was untouchable both by the Mexican and U.S. governments -- not to mention the budding, warring factions within the cartels -- the final episode of season 2 found him in prison, alienated from his family and his closest allies, as Mexico faced a new, more violent landscape.
The finale also set up the origins of the Tijuana Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juárez Cartel as Mexico's government began cracking down even more on drug traffickers as part of the chance to become part of what would become NAFTA. Meanwhile, DEA Agent Walt Breslin (Scoot McNairy) and Gallardo squared off in a heated conversation that looks to set the stage for an even bloodier toll in the United States' fight against drugs and traffickers.
Season 3 will be set in the 1990s, when the globalization of the drug business ignites. After Felix’s empire has splintered, the new episodes will focus on the cartels that emerged to take over that power vacuum created in its wake and the new generation of Mexican kingpins that ushered them in.
The New and Returning Cast
While the show may not feature more of Luna’s Gallardo, there are plenty of familiar faces from the expansive ensemble that are set to return. That includes McNairy and Matt Letscher as fellow DEA Agent James Kuykendall.
Fans can also expect to see more of José María Yazpik as Sinaloa Mexican drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who’s likely to become the new drug kingpin in town, as well as Alejandro Edda as Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Gorka Lasaosa as Héctor Palma, both of whom were instrumental in forming the Sinaloa cartel.
Also returning are Alberto Ammann as Colombian drug trafficker Pacho Herrera and Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Hermosillo and Manuel Masalva as founders of the Tijuana cartel, Benjamín Arellano Félix, Enedina Arellano Felix, and Ramón Arellano Félix, respectively.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, makes his acting debut as Arturo “Kitty” Paez, a member of Ramon Arellano Felix’s gang called the “Narco Juniors.” The group is comprised of rich, well-connected kids from upper society who join the cartel life for the money, drugs and violence.
Also joining this season is Club de Cuervos star Méndez as Juarez cop Victor Tapia, who gets drawn into the fold when he begins investigating a series of brutal killings. He is one of three new series regulars alongside Guerra as drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Rubino as journalist Andrea Nuñez.
Following his breakout role on MTV’s Awkward and appearances on recent series Good Trouble and Now Apocalypse, Beau Mirchoff will appear in season 3 as Steve Sheridan.
Changes Behind the Scenes
For five seasons, Eric Newman has overseen the Narcos universe. The executive producer served as showrunner for both Narcos and Narcos: Mexico. But for the third installment of the spinoff, he's handing the reins over to co-creator Carlo Bernard.
“I am grateful for my five years at the helm of Narcos and Narcos: Mexico,” Newman said in a statement, “and am immensely proud of what this spectacular team has achieved with these shows. Carlo Bernard is the first person I ever spoke to about this project, over 10 years ago, and I am extremely pleased to leave the steering of season 3 of Narcos: Mexico in his very capable hands.”
Additionally, the creative team will welcome a familiar face. Wagner Moura, who played Pablo Escobar on Narcos, will helm two episodes of the upcoming season alongside other well-known filmmakers Andrés Baiz, Alejandra Márquez Abella, Luis Ortega and Amat Escalante.
The Premiere Date
Narcos: Mexico season 3 drops Nov. 5. The first season of Narcos: Mexico premiered November 2018 while season 2 arrived in February 2020.
Narcos seasons 1-3 and Narcos: Mexico seasons 1-2 are now streaming on Netflix.
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