Colombia's Dynamo looks to turbocharge English-language copros
By Jordan Pinto
23-10-2025
Production studio Dynamo has aligned itself with veteran international TV execs Carol Trussell and Kristin Jones to turbocharge its push into English-language content and help bring more production to Colombia.
After 19 years as a standard setter for Spanish-language content on the global stage, Colombia’s Dynamo is setting its sights firmly on the English-language market with a pair of high-profile collaborators.
The company has formally forged relationships with the former head of production at Apple TV+ and Gaumont Carol Trussell (Narcos, Severance, Pachinko) and Kristin Jones, who previously led programming, development and production at AMC Networks before joining Peter Chernin’s North Road Company.
LA-based Trussell, who collaborated with Dynamo on Netflix’s Narcos a decade ago, is executive producing projects and serving as a strategic advisor to Dynamo, while London-based Jones, whose resume includes overseeing The Night Manager and Top of the Lake: China Girl, is an exec producer and consultant.
The appointments are part of a major copro push in Europe and the US for the Andrés Calderón-led company, which is based in Bogotá and has offices in Mexico City, Madrid and New York. The pursuit of global expansion comes as Dynamo levels up with its ambitious adaptation One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad, Netflix), now in production on season two, and following the recent appointment of Angélica Guerra, the former head of Apple TV+ in Latin America, as a partner and chief strategy officer.
Jones is serving as something of a conduit between Dynamo and her network of European writers, actors, directors and companies. She is currently working on English-language and English/Spanish bilingual projects with Dynamo, describing it as a production company that “operates like an indie studio.”
Carol Trussell convinced Netflix to shoot Narcos in Colombia
As an American in London, Jones has witnessed first-hand the collapse of the US/UK coproduction market, which has seen US buyers pull back and left British producers scrambling to find new partners.
“Given the fraught landscape right now, it’s appealing to have another place where one can look and potentially figure out projects. Not to mention that the cost of making things in Latin America is significantly less than it is in the UK or Europe. You can make a high-quality show there for under US$1m an episode,” she says.
The latter point is particularly appealing for cash-strapped European commissioners who are increasingly inclined to explore new business models and partnerships.
Trussell says Colombia is a country that US and European producers need to keep in mind. During her time at Gaumont, she was instrumental in convincing Netflix to shoot Narcos in Colombia, despite the fact it had no production incentives at the time.
The bilingual series played an influential role in the growth of non-English-language dramas on the global stage, and the country capitalised on the visibility by introducing a tax credit programme that has further grown the local industry.
Trussell returned in 2021 to shoot the English- and Spanish-language Apple TV+ drama Echo 3, noting that the ‘Narcos effect’ was evident, as many of those who had worked on the Pablo Escobar drama had become department heads since then. “Another wave of people have come behind them,” she says, noting that the industry remains on an upward trajectory.
There is still great opportunity to bring more foreign production to Colombia, however, and that is partly why Trussell has been engaged: to help bolster Dynamo’s service production business with US shows. The growth of Colombia’s production infrastructure, including new studio space and post-production facilities, is also making it an increasingly attractive full-service production destination, says Trussell. “Those are really important, because everyone wants to try and make their budget stretch as far as it can.”
The other part of her role is opening doors to key decision-makers in Los Angeles, where Dynamo is continuing to make inroads.
There is an ongoing responsibility for companies like Dynamo to support the next great international creators and storytellers, argues Trussell, who says the industry can still occasionally feel like “an old boys’ network.”
“There’s going to be a whole new wave of people, and there needs to be investment by companies like Dynamo into those people to make sure they step into those roles,” she says.
READ LESSProduction studio Dynamo has aligned itself with veteran international TV execs Carol Trussell and Kristin Jones to turbocharge its push into English-language content and help bring more production to Colombia.
After 19 years as a standard setter for Spanish-language content on the global stage, Colombia’s Dynamo is setting its sights firmly on the English-language market with a pair of high-profile collaborators.
The company has formally forged relationships with the former head of production at Apple TV+ and Gaumont Carol Trussell (Narcos, Severance, Pachinko) and Kristin Jones, who previously led programming, development and production at AMC Networks before joining Peter Chernin’s North Road Company.
LA-based Trussell, who collaborated with Dynamo on Netflix’s Narcos a decade ago, is executive producing projects and serving as a strategic advisor to Dynamo, while London-based Jones, whose resume includes overseeing The Night Manager and Top of the Lake: China Girl, is an exec producer and consultant.
The appointments are part of a major copro push in Europe and the US for the Andrés Calderón-led company, which is based in Bogotá and has offices in Mexico City, Madrid and New York. The pursuit of global expansion comes as Dynamo levels up with its ambitious adaptation One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad, Netflix), now in production on season two, and following the recent appointment of Angélica Guerra, the former head of Apple TV+ in Latin America, as a partner and chief strategy officer.
Jones is serving as something of a conduit between Dynamo and her network of European writers, actors, directors and companies. She is currently working on English-language and English/Spanish bilingual projects with Dynamo, describing it as a production company that “operates like an indie studio.”
Carol Trussell convinced Netflix to shoot Narcos in Colombia
As an American in London, Jones has witnessed first-hand the collapse of the US/UK coproduction market, which has seen US buyers pull back and left British producers scrambling to find new partners.
“Given the fraught landscape right now, it’s appealing to have another place where one can look and potentially figure out projects. Not to mention that the cost of making things in Latin America is significantly less than it is in the UK or Europe. You can make a high-quality show there for under US$1m an episode,” she says.
The latter point is particularly appealing for cash-strapped European commissioners who are increasingly inclined to explore new business models and partnerships.
Trussell says Colombia is a country that US and European producers need to keep in mind. During her time at Gaumont, she was instrumental in convincing Netflix to shoot Narcos in Colombia, despite the fact it had no production incentives at the time.
The bilingual series played an influential role in the growth of non-English-language dramas on the global stage, and the country capitalised on the visibility by introducing a tax credit programme that has further grown the local industry.
Trussell returned in 2021 to shoot the English- and Spanish-language Apple TV+ drama Echo 3, noting that the ‘Narcos effect’ was evident, as many of those who had worked on the Pablo Escobar drama had become department heads since then. “Another wave of people have come behind them,” she says, noting that the industry remains on an upward trajectory.
There is still great opportunity to bring more foreign production to Colombia, however, and that is partly why Trussell has been engaged: to help bolster Dynamo’s service production business with US shows. The growth of Colombia’s production infrastructure, including new studio space and post-production facilities, is also making it an increasingly attractive full-service production destination, says Trussell. “Those are really important, because everyone wants to try and make their budget stretch as far as it can.”
The other part of her role is opening doors to key decision-makers in Los Angeles, where Dynamo is continuing to make inroads.
There is an ongoing responsibility for companies like Dynamo to support the next great international creators and storytellers, argues Trussell, who says the industry can still occasionally feel like “an old boys’ network.”
“There’s going to be a whole new wave of people, and there needs to be investment by companies like Dynamo into those people to make sure they step into those roles,” she says.
