Netflix adapts Paco Ignacio Taibo II for latest Mexican original drama series

Luis Gerardo Méndez takes the lead in Belascoarán

Netflix has commissioned an original Mexican drama called Belascoarán, based on the literary saga created by author Paco Ignacio Taibo II.

The series will star Club de Cuervos actor Luis Gerardo Méndez alongside Irene Azuela, Paulina Gaitán and Andrés Parra, with a premiere scheduled for 2022.

Taibo’s book series – first published in 1976 – totals 10 novels, but it is not yet clear which is being adapted for the show. The stories take place in 1970s Mexico City and centre on detective Héctor Belascoarán Shayne (Méndez.)

The show will be produced by Diablo Guardián showrunner Rodrigo Santos and directed by three Mexicans who have worked on previous Netflix shows: Ernesto Contreras (El Chapo), Hiromi Kamata (Story of a Crime: Colosio) and Gonzalo Amat (Fargo).

Netflix announced investment in Mexican content earlier this year, promising more than 50 original shows from the country. Projects already unveiled include drama Dale Gas (Give It Gas), comedy Rodeados (Surrounded) and abstinence competition show Jugando Con Fuego Latinoamérica (Playing With Fire.)