{"id":44518,"date":"2024-01-25T18:10:55","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T17:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1980052"},"modified":"2024-01-25T18:17:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T17:17:49","slug":"is-griselda-based-on-a-true-story-creators-separate-fact-from-fiction","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/is-griselda-based-on-a-true-story-creators-separate-fact-from-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Griselda based on a true story? Creators separate fact from fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The team behind the series unpack its key themes. <\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 25 January 2024 at 17:10 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The brutal world of drug trafficking has proven to be fertile ground for TV dramas, with Netflix\u2019s Griselda<\/a> being the latest entry in this gritty subgenre.<\/p>\n

The series comes from executive producer Eric Newman and director Andr\u00e9s Baiz, both of whom previously worked on Narcos and its follow-up Narcos: Mexico<\/a>, making this familiar narrative territory.<\/p>\n

However, it marks a major change of pace for star Sofia Vergara, who has previously made a name for herself in the comedy world with a starring role on Modern Family and judging panel spot on America\u2019s Got Talent.<\/p>\n

Vergara undergoes a physical transformation for the role<\/a>, applying significant prosthetics and adjusting her posture to closer resemble the fearsome crime boss.<\/p>\n

Of course, not everything in the series is totally accurate, with RadioTimes.com<\/a> talking to Newman and Baiz about the mix of fact and fiction across the six-part series.<\/p>\n

Read on for their comments and more on the true story behind Griselda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Is Griselda based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Griselda\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Sofia Vergara as Griselda Blanco.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Yes<\/strong>, Griselda is based on the true story of Miami\u2019s so-called \u201cGodmother of Cocaine\u201d.<\/p>\n

Griselda Blanco was born in Colombia and grew up in the city of Medell\u00edn, which gained some infamy due to the local criminal activity of one Pablo Escobar.<\/p>\n

In such a hostile environment, Blanco is reported to have turned to crime from a young age, starting with pickpocketing and theft before moving onto the profitable drug trade.<\/p>\n

At the age of 21, she illegally immigrated to New York City to launch a successful operation, but was forced to flee the country about a decade later as authorities closed in.<\/p>\n

Netflix\u2019s Griselda series picks up in the late 1970s, the most famous period of Blanco\u2019s reign, when she returned to the United States and set up shop on the other end of the east coast \u2013 Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n

On the accuracy of the drama, director Andres Baiz told RadioTimes.com<\/strong>: \u201cWe do all the research possible. We read books, we interview people, we watch documentaries \u2013 and once you have all this information, you\u2019re then going to tell this story of someone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you need to ask yourself: as creators, what are we saying? What is the theme of our show? And the theme of our show is women in power, women in a man\u2019s world. So then the writing and the directing is encompassed by that theme.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cSo a lot of what you see in the show \u2013 a lot of characters, events, actions \u2013 are absolutely real, but we were most interested in our theme and the inner truth of those characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was June Hawkins real in Griselda?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Diaz\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Gabriel Sloyer as Diaz and Juliana Aid\u00e9n Martinez as June in Griselda.<\/span><\/figcaption> Elizabeth Morris\/Netflix <\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

One element of Netflix\u2019s Griselda that is sure to interest viewers is the role of police detective June Hawkins<\/a>, who is first to understand that a spate of drug-related offences blighting Miami are being masterminded by a woman.<\/p>\n

The male-dominated Miami police force initially considers this an unlikely possibility, with June\u2019s uphill struggle for recognition arguably mirroring Griselda\u2019s own treatment by certain men in her orbit \u2013 or at least, that\u2019s how the show depicts it.<\/p>\n

For any viewers wondering, June Hawkins is indeed a real person, who is still alive today and was consulted by the creative team during development of this series.<\/p>\n

Eric Newman explained: \u201cWe spent a fair amount of time with her, she was an invaluable consultant [and] resource. She did have a very similar experience \u2013 obviously, with a very different ending, June\u2019s happily married to, actually, another character in the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is a woman of Latin descent, a single mother in an almost equally male-dominated environment: law enforcement. She was underestimated and had to find her own way, using skills that the men didn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>

Without spoiling anything, there\u2019s an emotional scene between Griselda and June towards the end of the series, which Newman admits to being a \u201cmanufactured moment\u201d designed to lean into their aforementioned theme of womanhood.<\/p>\n

Newman told RadioTimes.com<\/strong> that this invented interaction reflects their shared experience as mothers, but shouldn\u2019t be interpreted as June having any strong sympathy for or solidarity with Blanco.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI have never met a law enforcement officer or agent of either gender who truly identifies with their prey. They can\u2019t. I think it\u2019s part of the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that June\u2019s experiences in a similarly chauvinistic law enforcement culture helped her as a cop. I think her overcoming this certainly made her better at her job and likely helped her recognise Griselda.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get the sense that she feels any additional sympathy for Griselda, but perhaps a little bit of empathy, a little bit of understanding of the things you need to do to protect your children and provide for your children.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did Griselda die?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Griselda\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Sofia Vergara as Griselda.<\/span><\/figcaption> Elizabeth Morris\/Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Griselda was finally arrested in February 1985, following a long investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), with agent Robert Palombo finding her in bed reading the Bible when he strode over and gave her the \u2018kiss of death\u2019.<\/p>\n

The gesture, which he claims left Griselda \u201cbewildered\u201d, came after her evasion of justice had placed great strain on himself personally as well as the city of Miami as a whole.<\/p>\n

In an interview with CBS News<\/a>, Palombo said that the homicide rate \u201cdropped dramatically\u201d following her arrest, estimating \u201cconservatively\u201d that she ordered the deaths of between 75 and 100 people.<\/p>\n

In light of this, he feels that her sentencing on drug trafficking charges \u2013 15 years in prison \u2013 was overly lenient, while a later homicide trial was stunted by a scandal involving a witness, but still added a concurrent 20 years to her term.<\/p>\n

Only seven of the latter were served, however, after a major heart attack and other health issues convinced authorities to grant Griselda compassionate release.<\/p>\n

She was deported back to Medell\u00edn, Colombia, where she was murdered eight years later in a drive-by shooting by a helmet-wearing motorcyclist whose identity has never been determined.<\/p>\n

Palombo concluded: \u201cHere we have a butcher being killed in a butcher shop. By an individual who employs the very technique, the motorcycle technique, that she kind of invented.\u201d<\/p>\n