EXCLUSIVE: Rafael Amaya (El Señor de los Cielos) is set to star and executive produce a scripted bilingual series in development about drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, told from the perspective of Guzmán’s wife Emma Coronel and centered on her life alongside her husband.

Executive producers include Coronel, Amaya, and his producing partner Martiza Ramos through Amaya Productions, and Zero Gravity Management (The Accountant 1 & 2, Ozark), where Amaya is represented. A search for a series writer is underway.

Guzmán is a Mexican former drug cartel leader who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel, once considered one of the most powerful international criminal organizations. He was convicted in U.S. federal court in 2019 on multiple drug trafficking and criminal enterprise charges and is currently serving a life sentence plus 30 years.

The untitled series is described as a premium, fictionalized crime drama exploring themes of power, loyalty and survival through Coronel’s personal journey, told from her point of view and depicting her relationship with Guzmán and the personal consequences that followed.

Coronel served three years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering. She was released in 2023. The former beauty queen met Guzmán in 2007 and they married shortly thereafter, sharing twin daughters born in 2011.

Coronel says that Guzmán, who has no involvement in the project, is a longtime fan of Amaya and his long-running Telemundo TV series El Señor de los Cielos, on which the actor portrays drug trafficker Aurelio Casillas.

“My husband liked Rafael’s work on El Señor de los Cielos, and I know he would be pleased to see Rafael portray him in this project,” she tells Deadline.

Of note, Guzmán has been portrayed by Marco de la O in the three-season crime drama series El Chapo, and Alejandro Edda played him in Narcos: Mexico; both series are from Netflix. Mauricio Ochmann played El Chapo in Telemundo’s El Chema, also part of the El Señor de los Cielos franchise. Coronel noted through producers that Guzmán was not a fan of the portrayals of him, specifically noting their inability to imitate his Sinaloense accent. Although Amaya hails from Sonora in Mexico, he uses a Sinaloense accent while playing Aurelio Casillas.

Coronel will not be playing herself in the new series, but she will have a vote in the casting. That is an important factor since shealso has been displeased with previous portrayals of her.

Coronel is also currently developing a memoir about her experiences in prison in tandem with the new series, which may inform or complement the latter’s broader scripted narrative.