Griselda review: Sophia Vergara excels as a ruthless drug dealer in Netflix crime drama

The series is a marked departure from the Colombian-American actress's sitcom past

Sofia Vergara is both the lead actress and producer of Netflix crime series Griselda. Photo: Netflix

After spending 11 seasons and 250 episodes making Gloria Delgado-Pritchett the funniest character on Modern Family, Sofia Vergara has proven she has excellent comedic chops and an electric screen presence.

In the years since the series wrapped in 2020, it seemed as though Vergara was yet to find the project to kick-start her post-sitcom career. It turns out, however, that the Colombia-born actress actually had the perfect role lined up in the shape of Griselda Blanco.

She was just taking her time to make sure that it was being handled in the best fashion. Vergara was confirmed to be playing Griselda all the way back in November 2021, when it was also noted that she would be producing the show, too.

Blanco was one of the most feared Colombian drug lords of the 1970s and 1980s. At the height of her success, the Miami cocaine baron was responsible for a distribution network across the United States that made $80 million a month.

The first moments of Lady Comes To Town, the debut episode of the Netflix mini-series Griselda, show the esteem that Blanco was held in by her peers with the quote: “The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman, Griselda Blanco.” This just so happens to have been uttered by one of the most renowned drug lords in history, Pablo Escobar.

Sofia Vergara in the lead role with Fredy Yate as Chucho in the first episode of Griselda. Photo: Netflix

Griselda doesn’t waste any time in grabbing viewers’ attention. After this quote, Vergara's character returns home in the middle of the night with a deep wound in her side. She uses a sanitary towel to stem the wound, while gathering up her three children and telling them that they’re moving from Colombia to Miami to get away from their abusive father.

Once in the US the quartet have to share a tiny room in Blanco’s friend Isabel (Vanessa Ferlito)’s house. Having escaped gangs in Colombia and set up her own travel business, Isabel is wary that Blanco won’t be able to adapt to regular life. She’s right to be concerned.

Blanco has smuggled drugs into Miami and, over the course of Griselda’s enthralling opening episode, she uses them to get in with local gangs, all while insisting that she’ll quit once she’s able to buy her own house and settle in the city. As you can probably guess from the quote from Escobar, she’s unable to extricate herself from selling narcotics.

Sofia Vergara's character moves her children from Colombia to Miami in the opening episode of Griselda. Photo: Netflix

Lady Comes To Town works so well because director Andres Baiz and the four writers involved in the script – the story is by Doug Miro, Eric Newman, Carlo Bernard and Ingrid Escajeda, with Escajeda and Miro writing the teleplay – are able to make viewers empathise with Griselda, show how fearless and ruthless she is, while also depicting the smart and unique angles she found to build her empire.

At the same time, it creates genuine moments of peril and surprise, makes audiences feel how dangerous the world was, and understand that bloodshed, thievery and death could happen at any moment. All of this wouldn’t be possible without a gripping performance from Vergara, who dons a false nose and set of teeth to transform into Griselda, while also still emanating the charisma that has made her so beloved.

Lady Comes To Town establishes such a sure footing for Griselda that viewers will be fully invested in the remaining episodes of the fast-paced, intriguing and shocking show. They will also almost certainly be able to sense that plenty of artistic licence is being used to make Griselda as captivating as possible.

Ultimately, that doesn’t take away from the mini-series being so entertaining. In fact, at just six incredibly bingeable episodes long, the brilliantly acted and daringly plotted Griselda epitomises what Netflix does so well and why it has become so popular across the globe.