It’s based on the Spanish-language telenovela La Reina del Sur, which is also based on a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
Brazilian actress Alice Braga, known for her roles in Dark Matter and I Am Legend, plays the lead in the series, starring alongside Peter Gadiot and Veronica Falcón.
The drama’s synopsis reads: “Teresa flees Mexico after her drug-runner boyfriend is murdered. Settling in Dallas, she looks to become the country’s reigning drug smuggler and to avenge her lover’s murder.”
The novel ‘La Reina del Sur,’ which inspired the series, takes inspiration from a real-life female drug lord, Marllory Chacón, whose nickname, given by the Guatemalan press, lent its title to the hit show.
She surrendered to U.S. authorities in 2014.
The first season premiered in 2016, but even now new fans are discovering the show, and have been left bingeing all five seasons.
Braga spoke with Forbes about the importance of the work: “Having Latinos in front of the camera is important, because… when they’re watching the show, they can see themselves in it.”
She continued: “There’s such a huge Latino community, but if we don’t have Latinos in the director’s chair, if we don’t have Latinos in the writer’s room, in the decision-making rooms, meaning executive producers, you also don’t get certain stories told from that point of view.”
Although Queen of the South is incredibly popular with fans, the show finished with its fifth season.
The cancellation was a result of the USA Network’s decision to move away from originals.
Watch a trailer for Queen of the South below…
Queen of the South is available to stream via Netflix.
