Amat Escalante adds black comedy to fourth season of Narcos

The fourth season of the Netflix series “Narcos” is well underway, with several parts being shot in Mexico . Amat Escalante , Mexican director known for “ Heli ” and “ La región salvaje ” claims that it will be the funniest season in the series.

Diego Luna, Joaquín Cosío, Tenoch Huerta, and Teresa Ruiz

are part of the cast . The story will take place in Mexico in the 1980s.

“I think the way we mix tragedy with humor is something us Mexicans are famous for, and I think people are going to notice that, for sure. The series is not humorous at all, but it has that effect,” he claims.

Tenoch Huerta

laughed when he was asked about the humor of the series, which will air sometime this year: “ If it was made in Mexico, you can bet that it will be funny as hell. It was no wonder; us Mexicans like to go crazy. I’m not sure if it’s black comedy, but it will be pretty funny,” he stated, laughingly.

Escalante was hired by the series producers for his movie "Heli", which portrays the injustice and consequences of a corrupt government in the midst of the drug war.

“Narcos is about gangsters, which is one of the oldest themes in cinematic history; some of the first movies ever made showed bank robberies and people loved them. In Mexico, we like to show how the drug trade has infiltrated the country’s administration and how there’s a power struggle between the drug cartels and the government.

“This series takes place in the 1980s when the narco-government we’re experiencing today began taking shape. It is very important to know our history; besides, many of the characters that appear in this new season are still alive today,” he commented.

“Many of the locations were close to Mexico City. Other famous Mexican directors are participating in the production, such as Alonso Ruizpalacios (known for “Güeros”), and Andrés Báez (“Satanás”).

Most of the production team is composed of Mexicans, with the photographer Luis Sansans , production designer Salvador Parra , and costume designer María Estela Fernández.

This is the first time that Amat Escalante will work with real actors and a script not written by himself, which gave him the liberty to focus on directing.

“Maybe they thought: ‘Hey, if this guy could pull something like Heli with inexperienced actors and no money, imagine what he could do if we give him the money’,” said Escalante, jokingly.

Next Tuesday, Amat will attend the Ariel ceremony , the most important Mexican movie awards ceremony, where his movie “La región salvaje” (The Savage Region), will compete for the best movie award.

dm