'Narcos' season 2 premiere date could be delayed due to change of showrunners

Netflix

One of Netflix's most highly acclaimed series is "Narcos," which tells the story of drug lord Pablo Escobar. However, according to a report from Entertainment Weekly, season 2 is currently going through some trouble as the series has lost its showrunner for the second time in a row.

Season 1 was handled by Chris Brancato. Brancato eventually stepped down before season 2 began development in order to work on ABC's "Of Kings and Prophets" under a two-year contract. Taking his place was Adam Fierro, famous for his work on "The Walking Dead" and "The Shield." The new report confirms Fierro's departure from "Narcos."

The report also confirms that no specific person will be carrying the title of showrunner for season 2. Instead, writer-producers Jose Padilha -- of "Elite Squad" and the 2014 "RoboCop" -- and Eric Newman will be returning as executive producers and will be working closely with the staff of writers handling the story and screenplay for the show.

According to a report from iDigital Times, the lack of a showrunner is but the latest of the series' troubles. One other issue plaguing the show is that "Narcos" is based on the story of Pablo Escobar and season 1 already accumulated a good portion of his life, leaving very little to work with in season 2.

Season 1 of the series spanned several years, starting from the early days of Escobar's illegal trades and how he got into the business of importing drugs to the U.S. It eventually ended in circa 1992 at La Catedral. The real Escobar was killed by the police in a raid in 1993, leaving the writers only one year of his life left to work with for an entire season.

Not only would this limit what the writers could focus on before eventually presenting his death as a series finale but it also causes the second season to pace quite differently from its predecessor.