Netflix announces Mexican family drama series Monarca, ropes in Salma Hayek as producer

Netflix has greenlit another international series and this time it is a Mexican drama, which will be produced by Salma Hayek. The streaming giant has given a series order to the show titled Monarca. Actors Irene Azuela and Juan Manuel Bernal will star in the drama about the world of wealthy Mexican elites riddled by corruption, Netflix said in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_4665781” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Salma Hayek. Twitter @MattHollyoak[/caption] The show will be produced by Hayek’s company Ventanarosa, along with Lemon Studios and Stearns Castle. Hayek said, “I’m extremely excited to partner with Netflix, and to be working with amazing Mexican talent in front of and behind the camera. We are proud to show Mexico as a vibrant, sophisticated and culturally rich nation fighting to control its own destiny.” Monarca is described as a high-stakes, multi-generational family saga about a tequila-born Mexican business empire and the battle that ensues when a member of the family decides to fight the dirty system her family helped create. Created by Diego Gutierrez and the show has been written by Fernando Rovzar, Julia Denis, Ana Sofia Clerici and Sandra Garcia Velten. Michael McDonald from Stearns Castle will serve as a producer. Gutierrez said the show is “the definition of a passion project” for him. “Having been born and raised in Mexico, I’m humbled to have the opportunity to tell this story with Netflix and the incredibly talented team of people we’re assembling, both in the US and Mexico,” he added. Monarca is set to begin production later this year and will launch globally in 2019.