“Why the fuck do you think that Gloria Pritchett is gonna be able to play Griselda Blanco?” That’s what Sofía Vergara assumed Eric Newman, the showrunner of Netflix’s “Narcos” franchise, would say when she told him she not only wanted to executive produce a series about the murderous Colombian drug lord, but she wanted to star in it. After all, Vergara had spent 11 years as Gloria, the hilarious, ditzy trophy wife of Ed O’Neill’s Jay Pritchett on “Modern Family.” Gloria had been an important role for Vergara — not only did it put her on the map, but she portrayed the only adult character of color on a show about an affluent white family. She received four Emmy nominations for the part and was a crucial player in the show’s five-year winning streak in the comedy series category.
