Griselda review: Sofia Vergara anchors a gripping, if formulaic, Netflix crime drama

Let’s state the obvious first: Sofia Vergara is practically unrecognizable in Griselda, which premieres January 25 on Netflix. Shedding the persona of her well-known Emmy-nominated performance as Modern Family’s Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, the actor approaches her heavily dramatic turn with guns blazing. She embodies the titular notorious drug dealer in a subdued yet powerful manner. And while it takes her a couple of episodes to hit this stride, she provides a steadfast anchor for an enjoyable but predictable TV show.

Vergara is the only major and pleasant surprise in Griselda. The rest of it mostly follows the footsteps of Netflix’s Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, with the same producing team at the helm. It takes on the daunting task of dramatizing a larger-than-life criminal like Griselda Blanco, much like the previous shows did with Pablo Escobar and Miguel Gallardo, respectively. Narcos’ Andrés Baiz returns to direct all the episodes here, leading to some resemblance in storytelling flair as well. A notable difference, however, is Griselda doesn’t feature real-life footage of Blanco to parallel the fictional scenes, possibly to avoid distracting from Vergara’s aesthetic. It isn’t necessarily a bad update, but it is sorely missed.

Like the two popular dramas before it, Griselda is riveting as a crime thriller, with twists and violence will have viewers anxious and hooked. The limited series attempts to untangle a tenacious, ferocious, and villainous mastermind. It’s compelling, especially thanks to Vergara’s gritty take on playing the “Godmother of Cocaine,” but the whole project also feels a bit like more of the same.

Griselda’s journey is annoyingly formulaic. It resorts to established narratives instead of allowing itself to be the fascinating or detailed character study of how Griselda—driven by ego, motherhood, and the desire for financial independence—rose to queenpin status. The show jumps years, rushes through a few subplots, and doesn’t give us enough time to sit with Griselda’s actual story, especially in the latter half. A binge-worthy Narcos spun a similar yarn. At least it had two 10-episode seasons to dive into Escobar’s family, history, motivations, and ambitions. In this case, Griselda tries to cover too much ground in only six almost hourlong outings. And the result feels unsatisfactory by the end.

The one way Griselda successfully distinguishes itself, though, is by acutely understanding how Griselda’s struggles vary from Pablo and Miguel. She might be a ruthless killer who clawed her way to the top, but she’s still a woman. And folks, misogyny thrives everywhere, even in the notorious cocaine industry. It means no matter how conniving she is or how many times she proves her worth, Griselda isn’t taken seriously by her, um, peers. She can be the brains behind massive operations, command a loyal army, and be a fiercely loving mother, but she rarely gets credit for her (yeah, fine, evil) achievements.

Griselda is far more interesting every time it focuses on this push-and-pull of her internal dilemmas. It gives Vergara the fantastic opportunity to display her range, going from emotionally fragile to in control, from seething with rage to being crippled by paranoia. Here, it’s evident the actor has been working hard to shed the Modern Family avatar—and it pays off. It’s too bad everything and everyone else around her pales in comparison.

Coming back to Griselda herself, the show opens with her running away from Medellín, Colombia, to Miami with her three children in tow. She’s escaping her abusive drug supplier husband and decides that, instead of slipping away into oblivion, she’ll kickstart her own illegal business. She makes audacious decisions to achieve these goals, automatically making new enemies while old rivals from her hometown arrive for revenge. As her empire grows, not even the DEA buys into her prowess, at least not in the show’s version. The only officer to look into her crimes is a young homicide cop, June Hawkins (Juliana Aidén Martinez).

June ends up being an engrossing counterpart to Griselda despite the two women rarely sharing the screen. The character becomes obsessed with hunting Griselda down, even as she fights her own battles in a male-dominated field where no one takes her seriously either. Much like her archenemy, June has to claw her way up the legal ladder despite being the most talented of the lot. Griselda is less about the cat-and-mouse chase between them (unlike Narcos and Narcos: Mexico) and instead spends time highlighting their individual journeys. Focusing on those angles sharpens Griselda enough for it to carve its path—if only the show would’ve embraced that strategy completely. Luckily, though, Vergara’s cutthroat yet tender portrayal is more than worthy of a binge.

Griselda premieres January 25 on Netflix