Now that Jane The Virgin has earned multiple awards nominations and a Golden Globe for star Gina Rodriguez, other networks are apparently trying to get in on the “ripping off a popular telenovela” action, too. USA Network has decided that not only are characters welcome on its turf, but vast amounts of drugs, as well—Variety reports the channel has picked up Queen Of The South, a thriller taking place in the world of Mexican drug cartels. Alice Braga (Elysium, Predators) is set to star.
The new show, which USA will no doubt promote by showing how the world of brutal violence stemming from the illegal drug trade is chock-full of wacky characters, is based on the novel La Reina Del Sur by Arturo Perez-Reverte. It deals with a woman who “inadvertently becomes drawn into the world of high-stakes drug trafficking when her drug-dealer boyfriend is murdered.” So, like Lucy, only less insane.
The book already inspired a massively popular telenovela of the same name on Telemundo—a company that, like USA Network, is owned by NBCUniversal. Which is good, because if you’re going to rip off the makers of high-grade drug-dealing dramas, keep it in the family. “I know it was you, USA,” Telemundo will whisper, pulling in its sibling cable channel for a hug and muttering in its ear. “You broke my heart.”