Modern Family star Sofia Vergara has signed on to portray the notorious Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco in a six-episode limited series at Netflix.
Written by Ingrid Escajeda (Empire, Justified) and produced by Eric Newman, Doug Miro, Andres Baiz and Carlo Bernard, the creative team behind Narcos, Griselda will tell the true story of Blanco, dubbed the ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Cocaine Godmother’, a major figure in the cocaine trade from the 1980s through to her death in 2012.
“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,” said Vergara. “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,” added Newman. “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.”
In addition to Griselda, Jennifer Lopez has spent several years attached to a feature biopic of Blanco entitled The Godmother, which enlisted The Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano in April of last year. However, the status of that project is unknown at present.
