Michal Zebede has landed a royal-size project…
AMC is developing Queen of the Jungle, a Latinx family drama created and executive produced by the Costa Rican and Panamanian American writer and producer.
Michael London is executive producing the project via his Groundswell Productions banner. The project is in the works for AMC and its sister streamer AMC+.
The series follows the estranged granddaughter of the Cortez family, which has the largest eco-luxury hotel real estate empire in Costa Rica. When her grandfather dies, she pulls the thread that unravels her family’s dark past, as descendants and rivals fight to the death for control of the lucrative Cortez empire.
Queen of the Jungle tackles themes of power, machismo, greed, family betrayal, Latin American classism, ancestral wounds, and modern colonialism.
“At a time when our world is in crisis, Queen of the Jungle offers the escapism we all crave, while addressing through the microcosm of one family the wounded societal patterns which no longer serve us,” said Zebede in a statement to Deadline. “In a sense the entire Cortez family is the show’s underdog, as it battles against the far more powerful Western hotel families colonizing Costa Rica and neighboring countries. But at its heart, this is the story of one heroine’s quest to escape the demons of her ancestors as she transforms her family business for generations to come,” she added.
Zebede is best known for her screenplay The Humbling, starring Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig, and her teleplays, including Freeform’s Party of Five.
