‘Narcos’ Season 2 News: Production Team Undergoes Major Shakeup; Series’ Humanizes Characters

It has not all been smooth-sailing for "Narcos" season 2, as news of  major shakeups within the series' production team continue to surface. 

Entertainment Weekly reported that the critically-acclaimed crime drama lost another showrunner for its sophomore season, as the series' current executive producer Adam Fierro "is stepping down from the series."  

Fierro, who took over the reins from season 1 showrunner Chris Brancato who left the show early last year, was responsible for managing the writer's room at the start of season 2.

Writer-producers Jose Padilha and Eric Newman will be filling in the shoes of Fierro as executive producers, although the Entertainment Weekly article said that "nobody will carry the specific title of 'showrunner'" for "Narcos" season 2.

Padilha and Newman will also be working with the team of writers who have been tasked to flesh out the action for the show's second season.

"Narcos," which chronicles the life and exploits of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Wagner Mora), received a Golden Globe nomination last December for "breakout drama" series.

Mora likewise received a best actor nomination from the same award-giving body for his convincing portrayal of the notorious drug kingpin.

 "Narcos" season 2 will include 10 episodes, and will feature Escobar as he plays cat and mouse with DEA and Columbian authorities who have been on his trail since season 1.

In an interview with the Guardian, Padilha said that he and the show's other writers resisted the urge to reduce Escobar to "a stereotypical comic book character." 

The Brazilian filmmaker, who directed the first two episodes of the first season, became so absorbed with the series' characters that he "deliberately blurred the lines between heroes and villains, DEA agents and drug dealers..."

"Listen," he Padilha said during the Guardian interview. "The bad guys, the good guys, they have something in common: they are human beings."

He added, "Human beings who, depending on the context, may drop their ethical stance to get the job done ... This is what happens in real life."

Recent news indicate that "Narcos" season 2 is expected to premiere sometime in 2016.