USA NETWORK ANNOUNCES THE SERIES PICK-UP FOR "QUEEN OF THE SOUTH"

One-Hour Drama is Based on the International Best Seller "La Reina Del Sur" by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and is From Fox 21 Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions

NEW YORK, NY - May 12, 2015 - USA Network announced the 13-episode series pick-up of the drama QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, starring Alice Braga ("City of God"), a co-production from Fox 21 Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions (UCP). The series is based on the literary page-turner "La Reina Del Sur," the top-selling novel by the internationally acclaimed author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, which also yielded a Telemundo series that became one of the most popular telenovelas of all time for USA's sister network. The series is slated to premiere in 2016.

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH will be executive produced by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller ("The Final Girls"), along with David Friendly ("Little Miss Sunshine," "Big Mommas House") and Pancho Mansfield ("Damien"). A showrunner will be announced shortly. The pilot is written by Fortin and Miller and directed by Charlotte Sieling. Fox 21 Television Studios developed and produced the pilot and will run lead on the co-production with UCP.

"From script to inception, QUEEN OF THE SOUTH had us hooked," said Chris McCumber, President of USA Network. "Alice Braga does an outstanding job playing Teresa Mendoza, a determined woman who defies all odds, to not only survive, but to thrive in an unfamiliar world. The novel has been embraced around the globe, and the telenovela broke records -- now we're looking forward to sharing this unique version of her story on USA ."

"USA and Fox21/FTVS have a long and strong history of growing together and making some of the seminal cable programming of the last 10 years. With QUEEN OF THE SOUTH and this summer's COMPLICATIONS, we look forward to the next generation of great USA/Fox 21 Television Studios collaborations," said Bert Salke, President of Fox 21 Television Studios. "We really believe that QUEEN is a breakout show and we couldn't be more excited."

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH tells the powerful story of Teresa Mendoza (Braga). When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the Cartel.

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH is the third drama to be picked-up off of USA's 2014/2015 development slate and joins the previously announced COMPLICATIONS (premiering June 18, 9/8c and 10/9c), the unpredictable thriller from executive producer Matt Nix (BURN NOTICE), starring Jason O'Mara ("The Good Wife") and Jessica Szohr ("Gossip Girl"); and the award-winning hacker drama MR. ROBOT (premiering June 24, 10/9c), from UCP, starring Christian Slater ("Adderall Diaries") and Rami Malek ("24"). Also, coming to the network in fourth quarter is the drama COLONY, from Legendary Television and UCP and executive producer Carlton Cuse ("Bates Motel," "Lost"), starring Josh Holloway ("Lost") and Sarah Wayne Callies ("The Walking Dead").

About USA Network:

USA Network, the leader in cable entertainment, offers a powerful stable of dramatic, comedic and unscripted originals in more than 102 million U.S. homes. The network also features spectacular live television, a dynamic portfolio of acquired series and the best in blockbuster theatrical films and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. USA's award-winning website is located at http://www.usanetwork.com.

About Fox 21 Television Studios:

The newly formed Fox 21 Television Studios is a production unit housed within Fox Television Group devoted to making creatively ambitious scripted and unscripted series for all distribution platforms. Fox 21 Television Studios currently produces the Emmy and Golden Globe winning "Homeland," starring Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, the critically acclaimed "The Americans" (with FX Productions) starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, Brannon Braga and Adam Simon's supernatural hit "Salem," Howard Gordon's "Tyrant," "Legends" from Howard Gordon and Jonathan Levin, Jeff Eastin's "Graceland" and Matt Nix's "Complications." The studio recently began production on Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson's "American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson" and Kurt Sutter, Brian Grazer and Paris Barclay's "The Bastard Executioner" (with FX productions). Fox 21 TVS starts production on "Dice," from Scot Armstrong, Sean Furst, Bryan Furst, Richard Shepard, Bruce Rubenstein and Andrew Dice Clay, and M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller, David Friendly and Pancho Mansfield's "Queen of the South" later this year.

About Universal Cable Productions:

Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. UCP's content library spans classics such as Emmy-award winning, "Monk," and critic and fan favorites "Psych," "Battlestar Galactica," and "Warehouse 13." In the U.S., UCP's programming can be seen across various networks, including: "Dig," "Playing House," "Royal Pains," "Satisfaction" and "Suits" on USA Network; "Ascension," "Defiance," "Dominion," and "12 Monkeys" on Syfy; "Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce" on Bravo; "Difficult People" on Hulu; "Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome" on Machinima Prime/YouTube, Syfy and DVD/Blu-Ray; and "Side Effects" on Awesomeness TV/YouTube. Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.