Sofia Vergara to Play Colombian Drug Lord in Netflix Drama From Narcos EPs

Sofia Vergara‘s career is about to take a dramatic turn. The former Modern Family star is set to play the titular role in Netflix’s Griselda, a six-part limited series about real-life Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco.

According to Netflix, Griselda “chronicles the real life of savvy and ambitious Colombian business woman, 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.'”

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Vergara will also executive-produce Griselda alongside writer Eric Newman, showrunner/writer Ingrid Escajeda, director Andrés Baiz, Doug Miro, Luis Balaguer and Carlo Bernard. All six 50-minute episodes will be directed by Baiz.

Despite having multiple Narcos EPs on its team, however, Griselda is considered a standalone drama with no connection to the Narcos franchise. Vergara and Balaguer have been developing the project for eight years at Latin World Entertainment before bringing it to Netflix.

“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 says in a statement. “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.”

Adds Newman, “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. Sofia 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.”

Vergara is currently a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, which wrapped its 16th season (Vergara’s second) in September. She previously portrayed Gloria Maria Ramirez Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family for 11 seasons, which earned her four Primetime Emmy nominations.

Blanco was previously portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2017 via Lifetime’s Cocaine Godmother.

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