Sony’s series ‘Carlota’ to tell story of Mexico’s ill-fated empress

Mexican vocalist and histrion Belinda Peregrín Schüll (known professionally arsenic Belinda) will represent the ill-fated 19th-century empress Carlota successful a caller Sony Pictures Television bid astir the Second Mexican Empire.

The Spanish-born Mexican popular prima headlines the formed for the series, which volition commencement filming connected determination successful Mexico, Colombia and Spain aboriginal this year. Sony has commissioned 10 episodes, each 45 minutes long, for play one.

Lo que sabemos de ‘Carlota’ hasta ahora:

— La serie es el proyecto latino más ambicioso de Sony Pictures Television hasta la fecha.
— Seguirá la historia existent de Carlota de Habsburgo, la primera y única emperatriz de México.
— La producción comenzará a finales de este año.
—… pic.twitter.com/P9NsPrmyzv

— Belinda Access (@BelindaAccess) May 20, 2025

“Carlota” volition hint the arc of the Belgian princess’s experiences successful Mexico, from aboriginal optimism and the royal couple’s sincere tendency to alteration the strife-ridden state into a glittering empire, lone to look rising governmental and taste tensions. 

In a spoiler alert, the movie manufacture commercialized mag Variety writes that Carlota yet “finds herself entangled successful a acold much analyzable reality, including a emotion communicative that defies fairy-tale expectations. As Carlota and her hubby Maximilian effort to physique a caller empire, they are drawn into a unsafe web of ambition, loyalty and betrayal.”

Billed arsenic Sony’s astir ambitious Latin American bid to date, producers are assured the titular quality volition pull viewers, pointing retired that Carlota was the archetypal pistillate to workout governmental powerfulness successful Mexico. She often acted arsenic caput of authorities during Maximilian’s galore sojourns extracurricular the capital. 

The bid volition beryllium directed by Alejandro Bazzano (“Money Heist,” a fashionable Spanish tv series) and Ana Lorena Pérez Ríos (“Como agua para chocolate,” the HBO Max series).

Belinda (Aug. 15, 1989) debuted astatine property 10 successful a children’s telenovela and has appeared successful films (including Disney’s “The Cheetah Girls 2,” TV bid and Mexican telenovelas. In 2003, she launched a palmy singing career; her 4 workplace albums, singles and soundtracks person sold implicit 3 cardinal copies.

Among Belinda’s co-stars are Jaime Lorente arsenic Maximilian, Miguel Ángel Silvestre arsenic Belgian Gen. Alfred Van Der Smissen, and Mabel Cadena arsenic Josefa, a fictionalized tribunal lady. 

Lorente is champion known for playing Denver successful “Money Heist.”.. Silvestre roseate to prominence with his show arsenic El Duque successful the Spanish TV play “Sin tetas nary hay paraiso.” The Mexican-born Cadena made her movie debut successful “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

“I’ve been dreaming astir this task for 2 years and, astatine times, it seemed arsenic though it would not travel about,” Belinda wrote successful a station connected Facebook. “Now it is simply a world and … I don’t person the words to picture however overmuch this means to me.”

John Rossiter, enforcement vice president for Sony Pictures Television’s Latin America division, praised the formed and promised precocious accumulation values, saying the task underscores Sony’s dedication “to crafting apical tier stories that link with audiences not lone successful Latin America but crossed the globe.”

“‘Carlota’ is simply a almighty milestone successful our travel to found Sony Pictures Television arsenic a starring amusement shaper successful Latin America,” helium said.

Empress Carlota and Emperor Maximilian pictured unneurotic successful 1857 earlier their fateful reign successful Mexico. (Louis-Joseph Ghémar/ Royal Collection of Belgium)

Who were Carlota and Maximilian?

Archduke Maximilian of Austria and his Belgian wife, Princess Carlota, arrived successful Mexico successful 1864 connected the heels of a French penetration that drove President Benito Juárez retired of the capital. 

Maximilian’s reign would past conscionable implicit 3 years. He was executed successful Querétaro connected June 19, 1867.

At the time, Carlota was successful Europe pleading with France’s Napoleon II and different European leaders to travel to the rescue of her husband. The empress would past Maximilian by 60 years, descending from mourning and melancholy into madness.  

With reports from Variety, El País and El Universal