We Finally Have More Photos of Sofia Vergara's Transformation for 'Griselda'

It's been almost a year since Netflix announced that Sofia Vergara would be starring in Griselda, a six-episode limited series from the team behind the streamer's hit series Narcos. Now, Entertainment Weekly reports that Vergara's new show will arrive on Netflix next year, in January 2024. Of course, an announcement can't come without a few sneak peeks, so Netflix also shared new photos of Vergara's transformation into Griselda Blanco, an infamous drug lord who came to prominence in the 1970s and '80s while running a ring in Miami. And while we're very used to seeing Vergara looking very much the A-lister with her judging duties on America's Got Talent and her star turn on Modern Family, Griselda takes her into decidedly more gritty territory.

EW adds that Vergara has been trying to get the project into production for more than a decade. There were a few connections between Vergara and Blanco, though it has to do more with motherhood and finding herself in America without any help and not the other things Blanco is known for.

"She had collected tons of images and stories and people who knew [Griselda Blanco]," Eric Newman, the creator and executive producer of the series, told the outlet. "And she had really gone deep on someone who felt the pressure that she felt. I think that she really understood what it was like. She's got a son and she came to this country as a young mother with not much of a plan."

"This was a chance to reinvent herself and step out of her comfort zone, which was very brave of her," director Andrés Baiz added. "She knew she had to dive in completely into this role and feel insecure and afraid, but she knew that all she had was her work, that she had to push herself to the limit."

The director commended Vergara on her commitment to the role, explaining that she was making a concerted effort to craft a character that was far, far removed from the celebrity that fans know and the roles she's had in the past.

"She wanted a Griselda that didn't feel like Sofía Vergara," he said. "So, for example, she had to learn how to smoke. Sofía had never smoked in her life. We came up with a bunch of questions. What are Griselda's dreams? What does she think about at night? What drives her? What car does she drive? What cigarettes does she smoke? What is her favorite food? Where does she want to go on vacation again? How does she move? Does she like to dance or not?"

The show is also set to stand out from the rest of the Narcos series, not only because it centers on a female character, but even with differentiations in tone and theme.

"There is that adage that is used all the time in our world that 'a badass man is a boss, but somehow a badass woman is a bitch. This show is very much about a woman in a man's world — in a toxic man's world," Baiz said. "You're always with her and rooting for her in this world that is trying to push her down and aside."