Griselda review: Sofía Vergara shines in an otherwise standard narco story

Even before watching Griselda, the stars were aligning for it to be an early must-watch series of 2024. Netflix pulled out all the stops, bringing Narcos and Narcos: Mexico's Eric Newman and Andrés Baiz on board as executive producers, with Baiz also directing each episode, while Sofía Vergara added her star power to the role of Griselda. Additionally, the mini-series had six episodes to tell the story of arguably the most iconic woman to ever take part in the cocaine business. 

Did Narcos executive producers, an Emmy-winning starlet and the larger-than-life subject combine to make for a must-watch series? Mostly, yes.

For starters, Vergara's Griselda is a huge step up from Catherine Zeta-Jones' portrayal of the drug lord in the movie Cocaine Godmother (available to watch on Hulu). Vergara leaves Modern Family's Gloria in the rearview mirror, and not even the slightly bothersome prosthetics used to transform Vergara’s face could take away from her portrayal. The actress was incredibly believable as someone vulnerable but ruthless when she needed to be. Not to mention, by the time Griselda spirals into her downfall, Vergara shines as a boss of Miami suffering as a victim of her own success and the drugs she sells. 

Vergara's onscreen success receives a boost from Alberto Guerra and Martín Rodríguez who portray Dario and Rivi respectively. As Vergara bounces off of both men in various scenes, the trio adequately shows the interesting paradox of Griselda using her beauty and charm to allure men as lovers and allies, while constantly telling herself she will no longer rely on a man and will never again have one control her. 

That being said, Griselda doesn't do enough to stand out from any other narco or crime drama of the last decade. The fact that Griselda is a queenpin is very interesting, as she has to fight for power, equal treatment and money in an underworld dominated by men. However, the series still follows the rise of a drug lord going from humble beginnings to an ultimate fall because of greed and an inflated ego. 

Yes, sticking to the facts, this trajectory was inevitable for Griselda, so adding nuance to the story could have proven difficult. But, more would have been appreciated. 

Then there are the law enforcement characters. Usually in a show like Narcos or Snowfall, there is a cat-and-mouse component between the lead criminal and main cop figure, where viewers are heavily invested in the backstories of both as they drive the narratives of why someone goes into the underworld and why someone else is determined to stop them. 

In Griselda, there is too much mouse and not enough cat, as not enough time is put into lead detective June’s (Juliana Aidén Martinez) story. As a result, it's hard not to want to rush through the law enforcement-only scenes to jump back into the drama of Griselda's world. Episodes 3 and 4 especially have slight issues with pacing because of the moments spent at the police station. 

Even with its faults, Griselda is still an entertaining watch. Vergara's performance alone demands Netflix subscribers tune it. Plus, given series like Mayans M.C. and Snowfall wrapped in 2023, Griselda is a great series to fulfill any void crime drama fans may have. 

All six episodes of Griselda become available for Netflix subscribers on Thursday, January 25.