La Reina del Sur (lit. The Queen of the South) is a Spanish-language telenovela based on a novel of the same name by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The first season is produced by the American television network Telemundo in conjunction with the Antena 3 network and RTI Producciones, while season 2 is co-produced by Telemundo Global Studios and Netflix. It premiered on 28 February 2011. The series depicts the rise of Teresa Mendoza (Kate del Castillo), a young woman from Mexico who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain.

With a $10 million budget it is the second most expensive telenovela ever produced by Telemundo, the first being El Señor de los Cielos.^[1] An English language remake, Queen of the South, premiered in June 2016 on USA Network, starring Alice Braga.^[2][3]

The series has been renewed for a second season that premiered on 22 April 2019.^[4]

The series is the television adaptation of the literary work of the same name of Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It is the chronicle of the rise to power of a Mexican woman within the world of international drug trafficking. Teresa Mendoza begins her adventure as a humble young woman in love with a pilot employed by the Mexican cartels. When they execute her boyfriend, Teresa flees, desperate to avoid the same fate. Her escape takes her to the south of Spain where she tries to start a new life. However, she is once again immersed in the world of narcotics trafficking, and for a second time, she suffers the death of a beloved man. After several blows, Teresa decides to take the reins of her destiny and becomes the head of her own organization. Through strategic alliances and a strong sense for business, Teresa "La Mexicana" begins to control an intercontinental drug distribution business. However, her great success is accompanied by a high personal price, and Teresa's happiness and heart are tested.

The season revolves around Teresa Mendoza eight years after the events of the first season.

Disappearing from the rest of the world, Teresa now lives an idyllic existence in Italian Tuscany, but the kidnapping of her daughter forces her to reintroduce herself into the underworld of drug trafficking and once again confront her old enemies and the past she tried to leave behind.^[5][6]

An English language remake, Queen of the South, premiered in June 2016 on USA Network, starring Alice Braga.^[2][3]

Pérez-Reverte, author of the novel, has stated that a great source of inspiration were mexican drug ballads,^[20] country-polka songs that tell the stories about real life mexican drug lords.

One of the real life characters that inspired the novel is Sandra Ávila Beltrán,^{[21][22][23][24]} known as the Queen of the Pacific, famous for being one of the first female drug traffickers to reach the level of "Boss" in the Mexican cartels, a place usually reserved for men.^[25]