# Queen of the South (2016)

> After her drug-runner boyfriend is murdered, a Mexican woman flees to Dallas and rises to become a major drug smuggler while seeking vengeance.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/58743

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 62
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller
- Network: USA Network
- Cast: Alice Braga, Justina Machado, Veronica Falcón, Hemky Madera, Peter Gadiot, Jon-Michael Ecker, Idalia Valles, Joaquim de Almeida
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1064899/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: tense, propulsive, gritty, dark

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its lead performance and the rise of a female drug trafficker through a dangerous criminal world.

## Synopsis

Queen of the South (2016-2021) is a US crime drama series created by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller for USA Network. Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga) flees Mexico after her drug-runner boyfriend is murdered and settles in Dallas, where she sets out to become the country's reigning drug smuggler and to avenge his death. Her ambitions run straight into rival traffickers, corrupt associates and the dangerous politics of the cartel world, with Pote Galvez (Hemky Madera) and James Valdez (Peter Gadiot) among the principal figures around her. The series runs five seasons across a serialized arc, with each season escalating the stakes of her climb through the smuggling underworld. Its tone is tense and propulsive, with a grounded, gritty texture and a strong undercurrent of revenge and survival. Fans of Narcos, Breaking Bad and Weeds will find resonance in its portrait of a criminal empire built from the outside in, its moral compromises and its relentless momentum.

## Shows like Queen of the South

- [The Club (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/80598)
- [Sin senos sí hay paraíso (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/59247)
- [Senora Acero (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/56546)
- [The Cartel (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/6940)
- [Operación Pacífico (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/83478)
- [Narcos: Mexico (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69342)
- [Kingpin (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/4318)
- [El Candidato (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/88693)
- [Griselda Blanco: The Black Widow (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54124)
- [Griselda (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/113917)

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