Sofia Vergara has lined up her first live-action role following the end of Modern Family. The sitcom wrapped in 2020, and Vergara is making a jump to a much more dramatic role. The Emmy nominee is partnering with Netflix and the creative team behind Narcos and Narcos: Mexico for Griselda, a limited series about Griselda Blanco, the Colombian drug lord known as the “Black Widow.” Vergara will star in the series and serve as an executive producer.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Eric Newman, the showrunner for Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, will serve as Griselda’s writer and executive producer. Andrés Baiz will direct all six episodes and Justified‘s Ingrid Escajeda will serve as showrunner. “Griselda chronicles the real-life of savvy and ambitious Colombian businesswoman Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most profitable cartels in history,” reads Netflix’s official logline. “A devoted mother, Blanco’s lethal blend of charm and unsuspecting savagery helped her expertly navigate between family and business leading her to become widely known as the Black Widow.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
However, despite coming from the Narcos team, Griselda is not a spin-off series or connected with the franchise in any way. “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,” Vergara told THR. “We are thrilled to have found the perfect partners in Eric, Andrés, and Netflix to help us bring this story of her life to the screen.”
“Griselda Blanco has long been a passion project for Sofia, and we are grateful that she and her partners at LatinWe have chosen us to help her tell that story,” Newman added. “Sofia is a brilliant talent and her passion combined with a fantastic story from [writer Doug Miro] and Ingrid, and the amazing Andrés Baiz at the directing helm, means we have a very exciting series to share with audiences.” Blanco’s story was previously told in the 2017 movie Cocaine Godmother starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Jennifer Lopez is currently developing a project called The Godmother with STX Films.
