Sofia Vergara to Play ‘Griselda’ at Netflix From ‘Narcos’ Team – The Hollywood Reporter
Sofia Vergara is readying to play the Black Widow.
In her first position since wrapping Trendy Household, Vergara will likely be making a dramatic flip to play Griselda Blanco, the Colombian drug lord extensively referred to as the “Black Widow,” for a six-episode restricted collection at Netflix titled Griselda. Vergara will even govt produce.
Griselda is the newest collection from author and govt producer Eric Newman below his general deal on the streaming large. Newman, who served as showrunner for 5 seasons of Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, stays an govt producer on the forthcoming third season of Narcos: Mexico. Doug Miro, Andrés Baiz and Carlo Bernard, who’re all aside of the Narcos artistic workforce, will govt produce alongside Luis Balaguer; Baiz, a Colombian native, will direct all six episodes. Ingrid Escajeda (Justified, Empire) serves as showrunner.
Regardless of having the Narcos workforce hooked up, Netflix stresses that the collection will not be a by-product from its fashionable drug cartel drama collection. (Any connection to the Narcos franchise would seemingly have elevated the prices of constructing Griselda.) The Colombian-born Vergara and Balaguer had been growing the challenge for eight years at their Latin World Leisure banner earlier than bringing it to Netflix. “Griselda Blanco was a larger-than-life character whose ruthless however ingenious ways allowed her to rule a billion-dollar empire years earlier than most of the most infamous male kingpins we all know a lot about,” says Vergara. “We’re thrilled to have discovered the proper companions in Eric, Andrés and Netflix to assist us carry this story of her life to the display.”
Newman provides, “Griselda Blanco has lengthy been a ardour challenge for Sofia and we’re grateful that she and her companions at LatinWe have chosen us to assist her inform that story. Sofia is a superb expertise and her ardour mixed with a unbelievable story from Doug and Ingrid, and the superb Andrés Baiz on the directing helm, means now we have a really thrilling collection to share with audiences.”
Regardless of her proximity to Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel, Griselda was by no means a featured character on Narcos. The feminine narco — who glided by the names the Black Widow, La Madrina and the Cocaine Godmother — was one of the crucial highly effective cocaine traffickers within the Eighties and a key determine in Miami’s drug commerce wars. Her story has beforehand been instructed on the display, together with within the 2017 movie Cocaine Godmother the place she was portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Jennifer Lopez can be growing a Griselda Blanco challenge with STX Movies referred to as The Godmother.
The logline from Netflix reads: “Griselda chronicles the real-life of savvy and impressive Colombian enterprise girl, Griselda Blanco, who created one of the crucial worthwhile cartels in historical past. A faithful mom, Blanco’s deadly mix of attraction and unsuspecting savagery helped her expertly navigate between household and enterprise main her to change into extensively referred to as the Black Widow.”
Newman originated and introduced the Narcos franchise to Netflix in 2014. Along with being EP on the ultimate season of Narcos: Mexico, which releases this week, his TV slate on the streamer consists of the upcoming restricted collection True Story, starring and govt produced by Kevin Hart, the opioid TV drama Painkiller and The Watcher with Ryan Murphy. On the movie facet, he’s in manufacturing on his third Netflix movie, Escape From Spiderhead; and in pre-production on Zack Snyder’s Insurgent Moon and a sequel to Shiny. Additionally within the works is The Higher World starring Daniel Kaluuya.
“Eric Newman has deftly delivered to life among the many most dynamic characters and tales on display immediately. We’re excited to proceed on this artistic path with him and for this collaboration with Sofia Vergara — a drive in leisure and a world-beloved expertise. With an unbelievable workforce on the helm — we are able to’t anticipate the world to see how Ingrid Escajeda, Doug Miro, and Andrés Baiz tackle the twists and turns of Griselda Blanco’s epic story,” says Peter Friedlander, vp of scripted collection at Netflix.
Vergara, who just lately ended her run on the five-time Emmy Award-winning ABC comedy Trendy Household, additionally just lately wrapped her second season as a decide on NBC’s America’s Bought Expertise. Her movie credit embrace Backside of the ninth, reverse accomplice Joe Manganiello, New Yr’s Eve, 4 Brothers, Chef, Massive Bother and Scorching Pursuit, the latter on which Vergara additionally served as a producer.
