Netflix sets Colombia screenings for One Hundred Years finale
The final season arrives in August, with seven episodes first and a nearly two-hour finale getting select Colombian theatrical events.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Netflix is giving Macondo a big-screen sendoff in Colombia.
The streamer will stage theatrical screenings in selected Colombian cities for the finale of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” Part 2, Variety reported, with Colombia’s promotional organization Proimágenes involved in the rollout.
The second and final season of the Spanish-language adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s Nobel-winning novel will arrive in two waves. According to Variety, the first seven episodes land on Netflix on Aug. 5, while the final episode, described as running close to two hours, premieres on Aug. 26.
Part 2 covers the final 50 years of the century-spanning story and begins right after the end of the first season. The earlier episodes introduced Macondo as a young, idealistic settlement and tracked the war-driven transformation of Colonel Aureliano Buendía.
The new season follows the next Buendía generation as the town changes under the pressure of progress and modern life, according to Variety. The story moves Macondo toward decay and toward the curse that has hung over the family saga.
A split release for the last trip to Macondo
Francisco Ramos, Netflix’s vice president of content for Latin America, told Variety the creative team planned the show as a two-part project from the beginning.
“We always intended to release it in two parts so we approached it as a bookended project,” Ramos said, adding that knowing the ending shaped the team’s perspective.
Ramos also said Macondo becomes more than a setting as the adaptation continues. In his view, the town grows into a major dramatic presence as the story shifts from its founding dream to its collapse.
Showrunner Laura Mora, whose credits include “The Kings of the World,” directed five episodes of Part 2, including the finale. Carlos Moreno, known for “Dog Eat Dog,” directed the other three episodes.
Variety reported that the season was divided around major story turns. Mora handled the opening two episodes, which connect the two seasons and bring in a new Buendía generation. Moreno directed Episodes 3 and 4, which introduce Fernanda del Carpio. Mora returned for Episodes 5 and 6, centered on the arrival of the United Fruit Company and Americans in Macondo. Moreno directed Episode 7, focused on the town’s long stretch of rain.
A Colombian production built from scratch
The series was filmed entirely in Colombia and in Spanish. Variety reported that hundreds of artists and crew members worked on recreating Macondo, with the approval of García Márquez’s family.
The production built the town of Macondo from the ground up, described by Variety as a first for Colombia’s audiovisual industry.
Mora told Variety the second season pushed the production in scale and craft, citing new cast members, Moreno’s work as director and cinematographers James Brown and Camilo Monsalve.
She also described the project as a learning ground for much of the team. “One Hundred Years…” became “like a school for almost everyone,” Mora said, because many crew members had not worked on a production of that size or on a backlot.
Ramos said the project has shifted expectations in Colombia’s screen industry. He told Variety that only a few years ago, many people believed a production of this scale could not be made in the country, and said the finished work has shown otherwise.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.