On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, global star Kate del Castillo details the return of “La Reina del Sur” for a fourth season on Telemundo next year. Her widow-turned-crime boss character Teresa Mendoza will “be touching hell,” del Castillo promises.
The global star also touches on the state of the content marketplace and how the Trump administration’s brutal crackdown on undocumented immigrants has changed life for Latinos in the U.S.
“La Reina del Sur” (Queen of the South) has been a landmark series for Telemundo as it marked the Spanish-language network’s early effort to experiment with drama series designed to return for multiple seasons, in contrast to the self-contained storytelling of most telenovelas. “La Reina” was a smash in its debut in 2011 and had been a franchise player for Telemundo.
“That’s why we call it a ‘Super Series’ because with telenovela they have many, many, many, many more episodes. And budget-wise, it’s a very different. I think we are the biggest in Latin America. So it’s like we’re doing a big movie,” del Castillo says. “The production value that ‘La Reina’ has is amazing. And for me, I’ve been growing up with with Teresa hand-to-hand. I’ve learned so much from her. When you’re an actress, you give a lot of yourself to the character. And I think we are both given a lot for each other. She’s very much like me. I’m very much like her. And I have a lot of fun. And every time that a new season comes, I just have a blast. And I definitely and end up very, very tired after doing so many stunts and so much action.”
Season 4, which is expected to premiere next year, finds Mendoza working as a restauranteur in Madrid. She’s happy, del Castillo confirms, but that won’t last long. “She’s going to be touching hell — that’s all I can say,” she says.
From her years in telenovelas and her work for Telemundo and Netflix, del Castillo is recognized as a global star. She has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico. She reflected on how hard the past year has been for Latinos in the U.S. amid the Trump administration’s brutal crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
“I understand that there are [immigration] laws, but they’re deporting good people. They’re separating families, they’re leaving young children by themselves. They’re returning people to a place that they don’t know, that they never been there before. And good people — I want to say that again,” del Castillo says. “And not only that, they’re killing Americans! So this is very scary. I have the dual citizenship, but now I feel awful because I feel that I’m living in a place that nobody wants me. But guess what? I was there first. We were there first. So I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to keep working and I’m going to keep advocating for Latinos. And one day this is going to end and the good people are going to prevail.”
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