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Mega Popular Telenovela La Reina Del Sur Gets U.S. Adaptation!

By Jamey Giddens on March 09, 2012
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I knew this wouldn't take long to happen! Fox TV Studios is developing an English-language version of the insanely popular Telemundo novela La Reina Del Sur, Deadline reports. Little Miss Sunshine producer David T. Friendly will be executive producing.

Based on the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte, La Reina Del Sur ("Queen of the South") is the saga of Teresa Mendoza, a young, Mexican woman, who after having her drug trafficking lover brutally murdered, stops at nothing to seek revenge, becoming the most powerul narcotics queen in the world along the way.   

In 2011, La Reina Del Sur was adapted for Telemundo with a fat $10 million budget, and became the highest-rated program in the cabler's history, averaging nearly 4.2 million total viewers, and more than 2.8 million viewers among adults 18-49. The U.S. adaptation will be for a weekly, serialized crime drama, as opposed to a nightly telenovela, and is being targeted for cable. Who says soaps are dying? 

Photo credit: Telemundo


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Submitted by DavidsMuse on March 9, 2012 - 4:19pm
#1
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If The Talented Mr. Irizarry is in it, I'll watch! He could even do the traditional telenovelas, since he's fluent in Spanish! Smile

Submitted by pjc722 on March 9, 2012 - 4:39pm
#2
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Seriously?! Why isn't ABC/CBS/NBC daytime paying attention to all the PRIMETIME soaps in development?! People want them anyway they can get them! Tell better stories, better arcs, better acting, better sets and you will have the viewers.

PRODUCE QUALITY and they shall come!

Submitted by MsAgentProvocateur1 on March 9, 2012 - 5:46pm
#3
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I remember this telenovela. There was some controversy over the 'narco-traficante' protagonist, if I remember correctly. The controversy sure didn't hurt the ratings, though.

Submitted by ER Writer on March 10, 2012 - 10:04am
#4
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If all this keeps up you guys might end up having to change your name to Primetime Confidential!!

Submitted by Restless Vixen on March 10, 2012 - 6:49pm
#5
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I don't know if this will...err, translate. US adaptations of foreign shows tend to be watered down versions that don't do very well. Plus, will it get lost in the shuffle of myriad crime serials already on traditional and cable networks?

I wish more would be done to preserve daytime dramas, which are American institutions, instead of all these bright "adapted" ideas that are pretty much trumped up soaps afraid to admit that's exactly what they are

Submitted by betweeniandk on March 10, 2012 - 11:55pm
#6
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Because of a promo I caught during DAYS, I was fortunate enough to watch and understand (thank you subtitles d:-) the first, and every subsequent episode. It was excellent. Involving Kate del Castillo in a major way would be wise, if this show is meant to be as much of a success.