GRISELDA
Starring: Sofía Vergara, Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappán, Martín Rodríguez, and Juliana Aidén Martinez
Creators: Carlo Bernard, Ingrid Escajeda, Doug Miro, and Eric Newman
QUENTIN
“The only man I was ever afraid of was…Griselda Blanco." - Pablo Escobar
When you lead with that quote, an expectation of pure evil is set. Sadly, Griselda rarely paints Blanco, played terrifically by Sofía Vergara in a performance that demonstrates her dramatic bonafides, in a light that lives up to that ideal. Sure, she engages in typical narco criminality, but Blanco is depicted more as a paranoid woman trying to succeed in a male-dominated field, not a ruthless kingpin. Plus, at only six episodes, the series is rushed, only giving surface-level insights. The typically comedic Vergara is a revelation, but as a series, Griselda is meh.
PRESTON
Griselda is a fictionalized miniseries based on the life of Colombian drug mafiosa, Griselda Blanco (Sofía Vergara). At first, the extremely likeable Vergara seems like the wrong casting choice, but as the series progresses, you realize it is all part of the beautifully ugly transformation that makes for a believable and relatable story that will have you intermittently wondering, “Am I rooting for her?!” Attention to detail is appreciated in the use of proper dialectical Spanish vernacular choices, but not so much with the utterly distracting makeup for Vergara. No matter, though; this is highly bingeable entertainment!
