Countdown Begins For Return Of ‘El Señor De Los Cielos’ And Rafael Amaya In January 2023

Telemundo has begun its 30-day countdown to the premiere of the new season of the network’s hit series El Señor de los Cielos (The Lord of the Skies). Season 8 also marks the return of the series’ notorious protagonist Aurelio Casillas, portrayed once again by Mexican actor Rafael Amaya.

The new season kicks off January 17 at 9 pm ET, starting with Casillas’ family – and the rest of the world – dealing with the aftermath of his death (that happened in season 7). But the infamous drug lord is alive, hidden in the desert by his enemies in the DEA. Casillas is far from giving up power, striking alliances and preparing for revenge.

This is Telemundo’s second consecutive series – after La Reina del Sur (The Queen of the South), starring Kate del Castillo, to leave its 10 pm perch for the 9 pm timeslot. In the past, El Señor de los Cielos has reigned supreme in the later time period, beating Univision. But season 3 of La Reina hasn’t fared as well at 9 pm as it did previously at 10 pm.

Telemundo is heavily promoting El Señor de los Cielos and Amaya’s comeback as “the end is only the beginning,” with video teasers from other show characters across its social media, looking to engage viewers in the lead-up to the start of the new season.

Set in Mexico and the Caribbean, this eighth season of El Señor de los Cielos is written by Luis Zelcowicz and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia, Conrado Martínez, Mauricio Meneses, and Bernardo Mota. Telemundo’s Karen Barroeta, Ximena Cantuarias, and Harold Sánchez serve as the series’ executive producers.

Viewers will be able to watch episodes live exclusively on Telemundo and the Telemundo app or stream the next day on Peacock and the Telemundo app.

In addition to Amaya, reprising their roles are Carmen Aub (as Rutila Casillas,) Iván Arana (as Ismael Casillas) Isabella Castillo (as Diana Ahumada) and Alejandro López (as Super Javi) with the special participation of Lisa Owen, Robinson Diaz and Salvador Pineda. Newcomers include Rubén Cortada, África Zavala and Yuri Vargas as recurring characters.

Other cast members are Maricela González, Karla Carrillo, Thalí García, Alan Slim, Karen Sandoval, Denia Agalianu, Carlos Corona, Daniel Martínez, Elsy Reyes, José Sedek, Wendy de los Cobos, Roberto Escobar, Sebastián González, Brenda Hanst, Daniel Martinez Campos, Renata Manterola, Mimi Morales and Jorge Cárdenas.