In a few days my biggest Netflix hype of 2024 starts with Sofía Vergara like you’ve never seen her before

Normally I don’t commit myself so early, but Griselda is already here my Netflix series of the year. Although I haven’t seen a single episode yet, because the drug drama doesn’t come to the streaming giant until the end of January (you can find the exact start date and further VOD tips on the topic below).

Why am I still so sure? Because Griselda Blanco is not only the protagonist of the new Netflix project, which, according to the trailers, can be placed somewhere between Narcos and Queen of the South. Blanco is a real historical figure known for his sadism, his Uncompromisingness and its innovativeness in cocaine smuggling is legendary to this day. If Griselda manages to even begin to live up to the true story, great things await us. Let me convince you!

After Modern Family: Sofía Vergara plays a notorious drug lord for Netflix

The drug godmother herself is played by Sofía Vergara, who most people in this country know as Gloria from Modern Family should be known. The actress is also likely to take on parts of her signature role as a woman who uncompromisingly stands up for herself and only observes rules and laws when they are useful to her for Griselda.

Watch the full trailer for Griselda Season 1 in German here:

What will probably be new for Vergara fans is which one interpersonal abysses the Colombian native has to explore in the Netflix series. Season 1 of Griselda tells the story of a woman from terrible circumstances who works her way up from the streets of her homeland to become a drug lord in the United States. Across all moral and social boundaries, because it wasn’t just the drug business that was firmly in male hands in the 70s and 80s. Women who took their fate into their own hands and demanded respect were punished at all levels.

At least Griselda Blanco’s real life is by no means an emancipatory success story. More like that Origin story of an ultimate supervillain.

The “Black Widow” of Cocaine: Who is Griselda Blanco?

Even during her lifetime, Griselda Blanco was a figure who seemed larger than life, more of an exaggerated drug addict à la Scarface than a real person. Using motorcycle-riding hitmen called the Cocaine Cowboys and smuggling drugs in custom-made lingerie, she found innovative new ways to increase her influence and evade the authorities. She smuggled up to 1.5 tons of cocaine into the USA every month.

She is said to have committed her first murder, still in her homeland, when she was only eleven years old. The Colombian was as Queen of Cocaine, “la Madrina” (Spanish for “the godmother”) and “black jokes” known. The latter because she is said to have killed her three husbands. However, her vindictiveness not only affected supposedly unfaithful men, but also women who she perceived as too pretty, or business partners whom her increasingly paranoid godmother accused of scheming against her.

Griselda Blanco didn’t negotiate with opponents (almost exclusively men at the time), she killed them. At the funeral of one of her sons, Blanco is said to have said a sentence that sounds like something from a script:

Whatever cowards killed my son, the ground will shake beneath your feet. This act will not go unpunished. I’m the fucking godmother.

Obsessed with power, mercilessly brutal and endowed with a brilliant business sense, Blanco became one of the most influential criminal figures of the 1970s and 80s and was at one point even considered the most powerful woman in the world. Griselda Blanco controlled the cocaine trade in several US cities and paved the way for people like Pablo Escobar.

When is Griselda coming to Netflix?

Blanco’s life has been made into films several times. Among other things, in the documentaries Cocaine Cowboys, Cocaine Cowboys 2 and the film Cocaine Godmother with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Will Griselda on Netflix be able to add a new facet to the disturbing and incredible story?

Griselda is from January 25, 2024 with a Netflix subscription available. The first season of the drama series will have a total of 6 episodes.

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