Since Netflix aired Narcos, the crime thriller retelling the rise of the cocaine trade in Colombia led by drug lord Pablo Escobar, the story has enjoyed indomitable success. After three seasons, Netflix and the show creators Chris Brancato, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, created “Narcos: Mexico” a standalone story. Shifting the focus from Colombia to Mexico, the series tells the story of the Mexican drug trade all the way from the 80s down to what it is today. So, is there going to be a second season to the story? The answer is yes! 

Netflix announced the second season last year, just three weeks prior to the premiere of the first season. This upcoming season would make the franchise’s fifth installment. Little is known about the upcoming Narcos: Mexico 2 so far. There are numerous theories and speculations about what could possibly happen. So here’s all we know as of yet.

When will it be released?

Netflix hasn’t announced an official release date yet. The series first dropped in November 2018, and production on season 2 began filming in Mexico City last year—where the first chapter was also filmed. All three seasons of Narcos and the standalone series have ten episodes per season, so if we follow the pattern—series are usually released around the same time of year, we could expect a similar premiere date for the next installment around November this year.

The Plot and cast

At the end of the first season, it was revealed that Scoot McNairy, the unseen all-knowing narrator, was an agent who will lead a task force to indict those responsible for DEA Agent Kiki Camarena’s death, which is set up to be the plot for season two.

It’s speculated that viewers would witness what happened after the death of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent played by Michael Peña, who was captured and tortured before his death. The good guys in the DEA are expected to bring justice to the murder of one of their associates. And it’s been suggested that Kiki’s death would intensify the government’s war on drugs. 

“What occurred in Guadalajara gave beginning to the primary cartel. From that, others would observe. And the violence and cash and medicines, they simply fucking explode. It modified the DEA, too. Perhaps it woke us up, I don’t know,” Walt Breslin (Scoot McNairy) stated in the final moments of Season one, hinting at a possibly deepened war between the United States’ law enforcement and the drug cartel in season two.

Diego Luna and Scoot McNairy are set to return to the new installment of Narcos: Mexico. The cast will include Alejandro Edda as Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Teresa Ruiz as Isabella Bautista, and Tenoch Huerta as Rafael Caro Quintero. It’s not certain if Alyssa Diaz will return to her role as Mika Camarena, the wife of Kiki. 

Depending on the direction the writers take Narcos: Mexico, the show could also see the rise of the Sinaloa Cartel in the late 80s as a result of Gallardo’s downfall after his capture and incarceration in 1989. 

Gallardo is currently serving his 37-year jail term in prison in Mexico for killing Kiki Camarena. The now 73-year-old said he was suffering from ill-health and wished to complete his sentence under house arrest. According to The Associated Press, Gallardo was denied the request. In a court ruling back in February of this year, it was decided that despite his advanced age, he was not qualified for release. 

Is there a trailer for season two?

Gaumont International Television, the production studio behind Narcos: Mexico, has kept the show under wraps. We haven’t seen any trailers for the upcoming season revealed. It seems like we will only get to see images from season two after the production wraps. Diego Luna has said that the filming is still going on, so all we can do is keep a close eye on his social media to spot a sneak peek. 

The show recently received a WGA nomination in the “Episodic Drama” category. Diego Luna also received recognition for his role as Felix Gallardo. The Mexican actor was awarded a Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series after the first season of Narcos: Mexico.

Going back to the roots of the modern drug war, Narcos: Mexico is set in a time when the Mexican trafficking world was loose and disorganized, run by independent growers and users. Throughout the show we will witness the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s with Felix Gallardo at the helm, unifying traffickers in order to build an empire. A tragic chain of events unfolds as the drug trade grows and governments declare war against narco-trafficking for years to come. Season one is available to watch now on Netflix if you’re down for a binge run before the release of the second installment later this year.

READ: 21 Times Netflix’s “Narcos” Got It Wrong

Platonic and honest friendships between dudes can be so cute and downright awesome. The Urban Dictionary, the pinnacle of internet wisdom, defines “bromance” as “the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males.” We have our issues with the restrictive nature of this definition, but OK, we’ll go with it. The entertainment industry is full of relationships marked by “complicated love and affection.” Can we think about Ben Affleck without Matt Damon? Or our own Latino superstars Gael García Bernal without the other great Mexican actor of his generation, Diego Luna? (we mean, just look at them… the definition of Latino bromance right there). 

Well, a recent bromance in the music scene has sparked the imagination of millions. Colombian reggaeton powerhouses J Balvin (his full telenovela name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvín) and Maluma (nombre de culebrón: Juan Luis Londoño Arias) share a close bond. It is a true bromance that strips away any sense of competition between the two artists. Perhaps, because they share the same Colombian background and deep passion for music, J Balvin and Maluma have struck a friendship despite having a significant age difference of nine years. J Balvin was born in 1985 and Maluma in 1994. Perhaps Maluma finds in J Balvin a mentor, someone who is slightly more experienced in life and the many ups and downs of fame. The media has often played out a sort of rivalry between the kings of reggaeton, but these are only ill-founded rumors. Fact is, these two dudes love each other. 

These are some of the things we love about this pair and why we hope que su amistad sea rica, honesta y duradera. Enter the frase célebre of our dear Laura Quiñones from the legendary Carrusel, but with a twist: “ay, qué bromántico.”

They are both proud children of the city of Medellín and it shows.

J Balvin and Maluma are the faces of contemporary Colombia, and, just like Shakira a few years ago, they have helped wash away the harmful stereotypes that still subsist in popular culture. More so, they were both born and raised in the city of Medellín, which in the 1980s and 1990s became the infamous epicenter of the drug trade. J Balvin and Maluma are the perfect poster boys for the post-Escobar Medellín: creative, energetic and stepping firmly into the future. In one of the handful of photos together they have posted on social media, Maluma wrote: “Medellin pal mundo cucho!! Medellin tiene mucha luz para dar!!” (From Medellin to the world!! Medellin has a lot of light to give!!). Great artists go back to their roots. 

They both built their careers from the ground up, as second acts to legends like Daddy Yankee.

This photo was taken in Mexico City in 2016 when Maluma’s and J Balvin’s stars were just aligning and they were crossing over to international stardom outside of the Spanish-speaking market. This photo is a true delight: the past and present of a genre that has defined Latino music today. Who could have guessed they’d be such major artists today.

Igual de excéntricos, they are both equally quirky.

Both artists have created enigmatic personas that redefine Latin American masculinity. Going against traditional macho stereotypes, both take care of their appearance and choose styles that shine, form the clothes down to their often unique haircuts. They are more Lady Gaga than Daddy Yankee, and we say this in the best possible way.

They believe in musical collaboration and admire each other.

Look at those big smiles: not an ounce of professional jealousy. They have both praised each other’s musical prowess and have hinted at a possible further collaboration, which would be like the Super Bowl and the Oscars together for reggaeton fans worldwide. 

In fact, they are now teasing at an imminent full-on collaboration! They celebrated J Balvin’s cumple and increased our thirst in the process.

This is not a drill, we repeat, this is not a drill… this is what Maluma posted just a week ago to celebrate his amigacho‘s birthday. “We will soon bring something”, he writes. Se nos cuecen las habas to know what these two are plotting. They are playful… but come on, don’t play with us!

This teasing is just making us crazy, but they love it and we are sure they are having tons of fun a nuestras expensas!

We love how happy they always look together, smiling and living the high life. Here, Maluma is like “So what up, shall we release something together?”. 

They are not afraid to also tease each other on social media.

One of the ways in which the singers slay notions of conservative Latino masculinity is by calling out each other on their good looks. This is not common for two openly straight dudes, particularly in Latin America, and sensationalist media looks for a few dollars publishing rumors who are unfounded and insulting to the queer community. It is the twentieth-first century, people! 

Will the wait finally be over? We would love this bromance even more.

According to E! Latino, the singers met on April  2018 and their first collaboration, a remix of “X”, the song made famous by Nicky Jam and J Balvin, now Maluma and Ozuna, was released on June 29 of that same year. We would love this pair to collaborate much further, perhaps writing something together.

Se llevan pesado, pero se aguantan, like all good brothers from another mother.

In a video posted in February this year by the artists from the Colombian capital city Bogota, which might signal that they secretly wrote new material together, J Balvin mocks Maluma’s new haircut. He says: “Por fin se cortó el pelo, ya lo pueden presentar en la casa” (“He finally cut off his hair, you can take him home and introduce him to your family”). We should point out that Maluma cut off his famous cabellera for a good cause.

They seem to be aware of everything that the other does on social media, like good BFFs.

The perfect frenemies. In this photo, which has nearly a million likes, Maluma teases J Balvin: “Someone tell him who is the real daddy”. We can guess that Maluma didn’t really like that comment about his lost mane, eh?

We love to witness the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

They are both young men (J Balvin, the oldest, just turned 34 this month), so they will likely remain friends for years and years to come. Music careers, particularly in genres like reggaeton, which depends as much on talent as it does on youth, tend to be short. We can just imagine what they will look like as a pair of viejitos watching videos of their best years and, hopefully, smiling over their many collaborations. Se vale soñar.

READ: 21 Things You Didn’t Know About Reggaeton Star J Balvin