Sophia Michaels
Sofía Vergara is taking on the grim true story of Griselda Blanco in a forthcoming Netflix series. “Griselda,” due out next year, is inspired by the life of the infamous Colombian businesswoman — aka La Madrina, or The Black Widow — who “created one of the most profitable cartels in history,” per the streamer. The six-part standalone series has been in development for more than eight years and, according to Netflix, it has no connection to the hit show “Narcos” — which famously dived into the story of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Netflix released a first look at Vergara completely transformed as Blanco back in January 2022, followed by more images of her grisly role on Sept. 14. “Griselda” is expected to explore Blanco’s “lethal blend of unsuspected savagery and charm” that helped her expertly navigate her business and family, which also led to her nickname “the Godmother.”
In a previously shared press statement, Vergara said of the TV project: “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. We are thrilled to have found the perfect partners in Eric [Newman], Andrés [Baiz], and Netflix to help us bring this story of her life to the screen.”
In addition to the upcoming series, Blanco’s story has been explored in projects like “Gangsters: America’s Most Evil,” Lifetime’s “The Cocaine Godmother” movie, and a yet-to-be-released movie titled “The Godmother,” in which the drug boss is set to be played by Jennifer Lopez. Soon, viewers will get a chance to see Vergara and Netflix’s take on her wild story.
Scroll ahead to find out everything we know about “Griselda” so far, and get a closer look at Vergara’s version of Blanco.
