Culture Interviews Cinema & Tv

“We had to build trust with the people we worked with”: Dan Johnstone and Castor Fernandez on Cowboy Cartel

“We had to build trust with the people we worked with”: Dan Johnstone and Castor Fernandez on Cowboy Cartel

Cowboy Cartel, Apple TV+’s latest documentary show, tells the true story of Scott Lawson, a rookie FBI agent from Tennessee. His investigation took down the Treviño brothers, the leaders of the Los Zetas gang. They were one of the most influential cartels in the whole of Mexico. 

As the audience, we witness the very first interviews with FBI agent Lawson, the main person responsible for breaking the case; IRS agent Steve Pennington; and Irving police officers, including Steve Junker, Brian Schutt and Kim Williams. The show’s creators put a lot of effort into their research, so they could tell the truth from various perspectives, while still using their own words. 

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking to the show’s directors, Dan Johnstone and Castor Fernandez, who told us about their friendship and working together, investigating the case, contacting the FBI and choosing the ideal aesthetic for the show’s purpose. 

Jan Tracz

Cowboy Cartel is released on Apple TV+ on 2nd August 2024.

Watch the trailer for Cowboy Cartel here:

More in Cinema & Tv

Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Berry and Keoghan face off in high-stakes thriller Crime 101

The editorial unit

Kelly Reilly returns to crime drama in Sky’s Under Salt Marsh – full trailer released

The editorial unit

Dennis Kelly’s Waiting for the Out brings philosophical tension to BBC One – first trailer released

The editorial unit

Teaser drops for season two of Paradise, landing on Disney+ this February

The editorial unit

“Every day you get another opportunity to redeem yourself; this series really shows that”: An interview with the cast of My Hero Academia on the final season

Mae Trumata

“We don’t make eye candy, we make eye protein”: Guillermo del Toro on Frankenstein

Selina Sondermann

Marty Supreme

Christopher Connor

Christmas, Again

Antonia Georgiou

“The point of relationships is to grow”: Bing Liu on Preparation for the Next Life

Sarah Bradbury