It took just over a month into 2013 for yet another project about a famed drug lord to come to the fore. We already know about "Paradise Lost," the romance that will relegate Pablo Escobar to an interesting supporting player but embodied by none other than Benicio Del Toro. And there there is the development roadway, littered with projects by guys like Oliver Stone, Antoine Fuqua, Brad Furman and Joe Carnahan, that are either in development or once were. However, when Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos tells GQ, "The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us," he's not fucking around. So we think this next attempt to bring Escobar back to life has a better chance than most.
The streaming service is pairing up with French production company Gaumont for the not so subtly titled "Narcos," a new series to be produced by "Robocop" helmer Jose Padilha, who will also direct. Things are moving fast with a thirteen-episode first season already in the works with a script from Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice") that will track the rise and (probably in later seasons) fall of the drug king. And with plans for a 2014 debut… like we said, Sarandos ain't fucking around.
There's a lot of territory to mine here with Escobar variously a politician, family man, ruthless criminal and beloved cultural icon to the people of Columbia at the time. And that rich milieu is familiar to the "Elite Squad" helmer who has already explored that kind of territory to both critical acclaim and box office success. So yeah, this could be pretty good, but of course the key will be finding the right person to take on the lead part. [Deadline]
