Sofía Vergara To Play Drug Cartel Boss Griselda Blanco In Netflix Series

Sofía Vergara will star as drug cartel boss Griselda Blanco in a new Netflix limited series.

The actor - who played Gloria in Modern Family - will follow in the footsteps of Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played the notorious criminal in the 2017 movie Cocaine Godmother.

The six-part series - titled Griselda - will tell the story of Blanco, who was once considered one of the richest and most dangerous women in the world.

Alamy

The Colombian was part of the Medellín cartel, the same racket as Pablo Escobar, and was sometimes referred to as a drugs 'queenpin'.

She was shot dead in 2012, aged 69.

Colombian-born Vergara has long been interested in playing Blanco and has been working on the project for eight years.

Now the project is becoming a reality, with Empire writer Ingrid Escajeda penning the show and serving as showrunner.

She will also serve as executive producer alongside Eric Newman, Doug Miro, Andrés Baiz, and Carlo Bernard - aka the creative team behind Narcos.

The story itself will not have any connection with the Narcos universe, though.

Alamy

Looking forward to the project, 49-year-old Vergara said: "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, Andrés and Netflix to help us bring this story of her life to the screen."

Producer Newman added: "Griselda Blanco has long been a passion project for Sofía and we are grateful that she and her partners at LatinWe (Latin World Entertainment) have chosen us to help her tell that story.

"Sofía is a brilliant talent and her passion combined with a fantastic story from Doug and Ingrid, and the amazing Andrés Baiz at the directing helm, means we have a very exciting series to share with audiences."

A synopsis for the show reads: "Griselda chronicles the real-life of savvy and ambitious Colombian businesswoman Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most profitable cartels in history.

"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."

There's no indication of when it will be released just yet, but it sounds like this could be one to keep on your radar.

Topics: TV and Film, Netflix

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey