The Most Scandalous Netflix's Series of 2024 Faces a Lawsuit Already

Summary

• In just a few days, a new biographical drama, Griselda, will be released on Netflix.
• The series chronicles the rise of one of the most notorious drug lords who controlled a huge portion of the drug market in the United States for about 30 years.
• Even before its release, a scandal surrounded the series as Griselda's children filed a lawsuit over the appropriation of their memories and likenesses.

For many years, Netflix has occupied the successful niche of biographical series, offering fascinating dramatizations of the fates of world-(in)famous names. However, it is not uncommon for these shows to spark controversy and even lawsuits.

This was the case with Narcos when Pablo Escobar's brother Roberto tried to sue the show several times. There has been much criticism of The Crown, whether for historical inaccuracies or sympathy for one side or the other. More recently, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has also been criticized by friends and families of Dahmer's victims for over-romanticizing the serial killer.

But if in the latter two cases the criticism was valid and worthy of public discussion, Narcos was an example of the show's intellectual property disputes. Something similar seems to be happening in the case of Netflix's new biographical crime drama Griselda: the show hasn't even been released yet, but it's already being sued by the family members of the title character.

Are their claims valid, or is this just another attempt to squeeze every penny out of a potential hit before its premiere?

Netflix's New Biographical Drama

Griselda is a new controversial crime drama that will chronicle the life of one of the most notorious drug lords who controlled nearly all of the drug trafficking in Miami, Florida during the 70's and early 00's. A fierce and incredibly ambitious woman, Griselda Blanco, often referred to as the Black Widow or Cocaine Godmother. She emerged from Colombia's grim underworld, surviving on robberies since childhood, and quickly made a name for herself in the bloody drug wars after moving to the United States. The notorious queen of the drug trade is played by the inimitable Sofía Vergara.

The series is scheduled to be released on January 25, and while that date is fast approaching, the release may be delayed as the series, and specifically Vergara herself, is facing a lawsuit from Blanco's adult children.

Cocaine Godmother's Family Sues Sofia Vergara

According to a TMZ report and subsequent data obtained by ET, Griselda Blanco's family, led by her son Michael, as the representatives of her estate, is suing Vergara and Netflix due to the alleged unauthorized use of interviews given by her children as well as their likenesses in the upcoming show. Apparently, Vergara is listed in the lawsuit not only because of her portrayal of Griselda, but also because she is an executive producer on the project.

According to Michael's statement, from 2009 to 2022, he conducted a series of interviews about the lives of his mother, himself and his siblings with unnamed individuals who were interested in adapting the story for television and writing a book. In addition, he says, Netflix was already interested in creating the project and using his memoir as a source. He claims that ideas from a series of interviews with him were indeed used in writing the script, but that he was not compensated. Nevertheless, no evidence of this has been presented.

Thus, the crux of the lawsuit is that Netflix illegally appropriated the history of the Blanco family and used images and likenesses of Griselda's children without permission. However, there is no such claim regarding the latter, as she was a public figure.

In other words, this whole situation is highly controversial, as there are always people who want to make money off their relatives' or friends' legacies. Nevertheless, we cannot say that Michael's words are false and that Netflix really did not use his testimony.

As we said, the series is scheduled to air as early as January 25. It is unlikely that Griselda will be canceled due to a lawsuit, but only time and the court's decision will tell.