The title for Netflix’s next Colombian production, Distrito Salvaje, has the kind of double entendre all great thrillers require. This new Bogotá that our leading man Jhon Jeiver (Juan Pablo Raba) is re-entering, is both a wild and a savage district. It is, he’s reminded time and time again, not that different from the dangerous jungles he’d come to call home while he was a guerrillero. But even now, with the peace treaty allowing him a new lease in life, Jhon will find himself entangled right back in the violence he was hoping to escape.
Just as rugged heroes the likes of Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan, and every character Bruce Willis ever played in an action flick, Raba’s Jhon is a begrudging hero. JJ is recruited to work in a covert operation for the police department that will turn him yet again into a ghost as he investigates the murder of a DA that was targeting corrupt government officials. What made him legendary as a guerrilla will come in handy as he works his way through the shady dealings of various groups in Bogotá. Part cat-and-mouse thriller and part contemporary commentary on Colombia’s post-peace life, Distrito Salvaje looks to fill in Netflix’s Narcos spot now that the drug cartel action series is moving to Mexico for its latest season. And with the likes of Camila Sodi (Camino a Marte, Luis Miguel La Serie), Cristina Umaña (Narcos) and Carolina Acevedo (Pobre Pablo) offering a much more female-heavy cast than this synopsis would suggest, this Colombian production is going to offer thrills aplenty.
Check out the full trailer below.
Distrito Salvaje drops on Netflix on October 19, 2018.