Netflix Unveils First Look And Date For Luis Estrada’s ‘Las Muertas’ Based On Real Serial Killers

Las Muertas. (L to R) Arcelia Ramírez as Arcángela, Mauricio Isaac as La Calavera, Paulina Gaitán as Serafina in Las Muertas.

Netflix

A gruesome tale of violence and murder fueled by ambition lies at the heart of Las Muertas (The Dead Girls), Netflix’s upcoming series based on a ​real-life serial killer case that shocked Mexico.

The just-released first teaser for The Dead Girls offers a glimpse into the twisted world of the Baladro sisters — two women who ​”turned sin into business, and business into hell​” — showcasing a disturbing story laced with dark humor.

Critically acclaimed director Luis Estrada, ​k​nown for his ​s​harp political satires​ that critique corruption and power structures​ in films such as La ley de Herodes (Herod’s Law), Un mundo maravilloso (A Wonderful World), and La dictadura perfecta (The Perfect Dictatorship)​ and ¡Que viva México! — all currently available on Netflix — t​akes on his first​-ever series and most ambitious project​ yet, transform​ing one of the country’s most notorious true crime stories into dark satire.

“From the moment I read the novel, I wanted to shoot it,” Estrada said of Mexican novelist and playwright​ Jorge Ibargüengoitia’s source material, which fictionalizes the story of two sisters who built a prostitution empire Mexico before ​t​hey were discovered to be ​p​rolific serial killers.​

The Real Crime That Inspired the Novel and the Series

The series draws from Ibargüengoitia’s novel​ Las Muertas, itself inspired by the real-life González sisters, known as Las Poquianchis. From 1950 to 1964, these four women operated “Rancho El Ángel” in Guanajuato, running a large-scale prostitution ring that resulted in at least 91 confirmed deaths, though investigators believe the actual number exceeded 200 victims. The González sisters were sentenced to forty years in prison in 1964, with varying fates following their convictions.

Ibargüengoitia transformed the González sisters’ crimes into a fictional narrative that examined broader social issues through the lens of this criminal case.

Estrada’s adaptation features Paulina Gaitán (Narcos, El Presidente), Arcelia Ramírez (Ojos que no ven, Vencer el miedo) as the fictional Baladro sisters, alongside Joaquín Cosío (Midnight Family, ¡Que viva México!), Alfonso Herrera (Ozark, Rebel Moon) and Mauricio Isaac (Narcos: Mexico, La Doña).

The story unfolds in the fictional town of Mezcala against a backdrop of 1960s Mexico, complete with chachachá music, corruption, and social upheaval.

Produced by Bandidos Films and Jaibol Films​, the series is written by Estrada and Jaime Sampietro in collaboration with Rodrigo Santos, with cinematography by Alberto Anaya Adalid and an original score by Fernando Velázquez.

Las Muertas premieres on Netflix on September 10.