“If you think you’ve seen me fight, you haven’t seen anything yet,” First Lady Emilia Urquiza (Kate del Castillo) vows in the trailer for Netflix’s “Ingobernable.”
We’re inclined to believe her since — in the span of 90 seconds or so — she calls out her husband (Erik Hayser, “Los Miserables”) for jettisoning his progressive agenda, makes an unprecedented move by deciding to leave him, appears to kill him, and goes on the run.
According to the thriller’s synopsis, Emilia had “big plans to improve conditions for the country through her commitment to fighting for peace” before “losing faith in her husband, President Diego Nava.” It continues, “Emilia is a woman with a strong personality, conviction, and clear ideas that make her capable of doing anything: making a president, leaving a president, and killing a president.”
The first season of “Ingobernable” — the Spanish word for “ungovernable” — will use its 15 episodes to explore the aftermath of the president’s death while following Emilia in hiding and the government officials trying to track her down. The series’ focus on political fugitives and government corruption also has real-life resonance: del Castillo made headlines in early 2016 for her role in “brokering” the meeting between Sean Penn and El Chapo, the drug kingpin. Penn wrote about this encounter for Rolling Stone. Shortly after the article was published, El Chapo was extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
Del Castillo is probably best known in the U.S. for her roles in Patricia Riggen’s features “The 33” and “Under the Same Moon,” as well as her turns in “Jane the Virgin” and “Weeds.” A superstar in her native Mexico, del Castillo became a household name with her roles in telenovelas like “Muchachitas,” “Azul,” “La mentira,” and “La Reina del Sur.”
“Ingobernable” will debut on Netflix March 24.