If You LOVED 'Narcos,' This New Netflix Crime Series Was Made Just For You

Netflix has continued to draw upon the historic events in Brazil with The Mechanism, following suit after its wildly successful Narcos, which examines the Brazilian drug trade. With The Mechanism, streaming on Netflix on March 23, similar motifs and moods are put into play to explore a narrative inspired by a mind-boggling corruption scandal. So will The Mechanism return for Season 2?

There's no word yet on if Netflix has ordered another season of The Mechanism, but the person at the helm is the same one who brought them such wild success with Narcos — creator and director of both series José Padilha — so a continuation of the new show might not be far off. And, as the New York Times reports that the show is based on an "ongoing scandal" in Brazil — things don't seem to be tied up after just these eight episodes. Just a few weeks ago, after The Mechanism would have already wrapped Season 1 filming, the director of Argentina's intelligence agency was accused of being part of the money-laundering scheme, according to another Times report, and the investigation is very much ongoing as it rocks business and politics in Central America. (The Times reported that the intelligence official has not been criminally charged, and he claimed to have “no ties” to the case.)

The Netflix series follows investigators as they uncover pieces of the mystery, and because the real-life ordeal isn't over yet, there very well may be material for future seasons.

"Nobody knows how this is going to turn out," Padilha told the Times in the first article linked above. "Brazil is at a crossroads, and everything is up for grabs. It's a crazy situation, but it's my role as a political filmmaker to tackle these issues." He echoed those sentiments in an interview with Reuters when asked how many seasons of The Mechanism were planned. "My intention is to finish this when corruption ends, so it's gonna go a pretty long time if it's up to me."

The Mechanism's three main characters are works of fiction, the same New York Times article states, despite the show's deep roots in reality, meaning that perhaps it has some wiggle room as to how it chooses to portray the real-life scenario playing out in real time. Padilha is a also pro in terms of creating compelling, nuanced and intriguing law enforcement and military entities for movies and TV — his other works aside from Narcos include the recently released 7 Days in Entebbe and Bus 174, both focused on terrorism operations. Corruption and crime wreak obviously havoc in Narcos, as well, and this seems a genre in which Padilha is comfortable and skilled in telling stories.

He insists the police force are often the driving force of the plot when putting together crime narratives, not necessarily the criminals, explaning why the law enforcement side of things is a big focus in his projects. "For the state to sustain itself, there must be some repressive force that it manages and controls," he told the Times. "So the police are not a detail, they are an essential feature of any complex society. They offer a glimpse into all kinds of social systems, because they are very, very much on the edge, the fringe of society, where institutions meet."

It remains to be seen how The Mechanism will resonate with its audience, but if shows of the same nature (and by the same director) are any indication, viewers will be excited. Narcos currently has an 88 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is gearing up for its fourth season. Padilha is used to achieving longevity with his other Netflix series, and as the events on which The Mechanism is based are still unfolding, there's no telling how many chapters there will be to this story.