She may be best known for her work in comedies, but Sofia Vergara's next role for Netflix has a much darker edge to it.
The Colombian-American actress will play an infamous drug trafficker in the new mini-series Griselda, coming soon to the streaming service. Netflix has released the first image of Vergara as real-life drug lord Griselda Blanco, as well as a number of details about the upcoming show.
Looking ahead to Griselda on Netflix, here's everything you need to know ahead of launch.
Sofia Vergara as Griselda Blanco
Vergara doesn't look like she's playing for laughs in the first-look image for Griselda on Netflix. From the style and the technology featured in the image, it looks as though it could be set in the 1970s.
Vergara is seen smoking a cigarette and giving someone off-camera a stern look.
Vergara will play the lead, Blanco, at a younger stage in her life. The Colombian criminal was born in 1943 and died in 2012. Blanco was a notorious and feared drug queenpin for decades who came to international prominence after the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys.
Vergara has developed the series and will produce Griselda alongside Luis Balaguer for Latin World Entertainment. Ingrid Escajeda will act as the co-showrunner while Andrés Baiz will direct all six episodes.
It's not the first time a famous actress will play Blanco. In 2017, Catherine Zeta-Jones played Blanco in the Lifetime movie Cocaine Godmother. The casting of Welsh actress Zeta-Jones was criticized by some, with IndieWire describing her performance as Blanco as "not just unconvincing, she's outlandish."
Jennifer Lopez was also close to playing Blanco in a movie biopic called The Godmother. Reed Morano (The Handmaid's Tale) was touted to direct but there has been no update on this project since 2020.
Who else stars in Griselda on Netflix?
As well as sharing the first look at Vergara in the mini-series, Netflix also revealed 10 other additions to the cast.
Griselda will see Alberto Guerra (Narcos: Mexico) as Dario, Vanessa Ferlito (NCIS: New Orleans) as Isabel, Alberto Ammann (Narcos & Narcos: Mexico) as Alberto Bravo, Christian Tappan as Arturo and Diego Trujillo as German Panesso.
Additional casting includes Paulina Davila as Carmen, Gabriel Sloyer (Narcos) as Diaz, Juliana Aidén Martinez (Blacklist) as June, Martin Rodriguez as Rivi, and José Zúñiga (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story) as Amilcar.
How many episodes of Griselda will there be?
Griselda will be a six-part mini-series available to binge on the streaming service.
Each of the six episodes will be roughly 50 minutes in length.
Netflix has yet to announce a release date for the limited series.
Correction 1/20/22, 4:38 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Sofia Vergara.
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