The six-episode TV series will chronicle the complex, successful and tragic life of Griselda Blanco, a Colombian woman who is said to have created one of the most profitable cartels in history. While supposedly a devoted mother, she was also a brutal cartel head who built a billion-dollar-worth drug empire that extended from her home country to the United States. Her ruthlessness and drug-trafficking prominence earned her nicknames like “Black Widow,” “Godmother of cocaine” and “La Madrina,” or the Godmother. Reportedly she was responsible for much of the drug-related violence that engulfed Miami during the Cocaine Cowboy Wars in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

“Griselda Blanco was a larger-than-life character whose ruthless but ingenious tactics allowed her to rule a billion-dollar empire years before many of the most notorious male kingpins we know so much about,” says Vergara. The Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG-nominated actress had been developing the project for eight years through her company Latin World Entertainment before taking it to Netflix. 

The series’ executive producers are Vergara and her partner Luis Balaguer at Latin World Entertainment. The creative team behind another popular Netflix show about drug lords, Narcos, Eric Newman, Doug Miro, Andrés Baiz and Carlo Bernard are also on board to executive producer with Baiz also on board to direct all six episodes. 

The show will be penned by Ingrid Escajeda, whose writing credits include the multiple Primetime Emmy Award-winning FX action crime series Justified. She co-wrote Griselda‘s first episode with Miro, who did the screenplays for Netflix’s two other successful series about drug lords, Narcos and Narcos: Mexico. Escajeda will serve as showrunner and also executive produce. 

For his part, Peter Friedlander, vice president of Ucan Scripted Series for Netflix, praises exec producer Newman, who also produced the three-time Oscar-nominated film Children of Men by Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón.

“Eric Newman has deftly brought to life among the most dynamic characters and stories on screen today,” says Friedlander. “We’re excited to continue on this creative path with him and for this collaboration with Sofia Vergara—a force in entertainment and a world-beloved talent.”

Vergara is best known for playing Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the five-time Emmy Award-winning ABC comedy Modern Family. She recently wrapped her second season as a judge on the NBC hit summer series America’s Got Talent. Her movie credits include Bottom of the 9th, New Year’s Eve, Four Brothers and Hot Pursuit, the latter opposite Oscar-winner Resse Witherspoon and on which she also served as a producer. In the 1990s, Vergara established Latin World Entertainment, dubbed as a full-service, diversified entertainment and media company with a specialty in client management, production and licensing. 

Featured Photo: Sofia Vergara (Credit: Netflix)

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