LOS ANGELES, July 5 — Mexican billionaires drama Monarca is on its way to Netflix for a 2019 debut after the online streaming network placed an order for the show through Salma Hayek’s production company.
Prepare to see a “vibrant, sophisticated and culturally rich” Mexico in Monarca, the upcoming drama about a business empire plunged into civil war when one family member fights the corruption her ancestors helped create.
Appropriately, the series’ title is the Spanish for Monarch.
Irene Azuela (award-winning star of Burn the Bridges and The Obscure Spring) will lead the cast along with Juan Manuel Bernal (Perfect Obedience), under the guidance of showrunner and series creator Diego Gutierrez, who worked on the Without a Trace, Kingpin, Angel, and From Dusk till Dawn shows.
Hayek and fellow producer Michael McDonald are teaming up again after having brought Ugly Betty to ABC, while Netflix has already demonstrated its interest in bringing Mexican dramas to an international audience through Club de Cuervos, El Chapo and others.
Hayek broke through to a worldwide audience with roles in the Robert Rodriguez mid-1990s action thrillers Desperado and From Dusk till Dawn, reuniting with the director (and Desperado star Antonio Banderas) for Once Upon a Time in Mexico nearly a decade later, and then Banderas again for Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots.
She was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, and Bafta award for her portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in Frida, and for two Primetime Emmys as a guest actress and a producer on Ugly Betty.
Future film acting projects include sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, business drama The Hummingbird Project with Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård, and Drunk Parents with Alec Baldwin, Bridget Moynahan and Joe Manganiello. — AFP-Relaxnews
