Trust Netflix to woo Juan Pablo Raba back to Colombian TV. The Latino hunk known for his work in Mi gorda bella, Pobres Rico and several other telenovelas has of late been working to raise his international profile. He joined Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Joey Gutiérrez and Narcos as Pablo Escobar’s cousin Gustavo. But it seems he’s headed home with Distrito Salvaje, the latest Colombian series produced exclusively for Netflix. Moreover, the Cristian Conti-created drama is primed to tackle what it means to live in a post-Peace Treaty Colombia.
Raba stars as Jhon Jeiver (yes, really), a deadly guerrillero who flees the countryside after the peace agreement is signed. As we see in the recently released teaser, he arrives at the titular “district”: Bogotá. There, he’ll try to piece a new life for himself in hopes of reconnecting with his family. Unfortunately, he can’t escape his past that easily. Given the thriller aspect of the drama, Jhon finds himself in a web of crime and corruption. Faced with new challenges that force him to learn the ropes in the city, he’ll have to both protect his family from his past all the while facing a choice as to which side of the law he truly wants to be on. Joining Raba is a stellar, mostly Colombian, cast that includes Camila Sodi (Camino a Marte), Cristina Umaña (Narcos), Carolina Acevedo (La Ley del Corazón) and Juan Sebastián Calero (Sin Senos No Hay Paraíso).
Distrito Salvaje looks like the dark gritty Colombian drama that’ll fill the hole left by Narcos now that that banner show is moving to Mexico (and outright becoming its own series in the process.) Now can we get onto asking Netflix to create a sunnier comedy that shows us Bogotá in a slightly less dour light?
Distrito Salvaje drops on Netflix on October 19, 2018.