Thriller ‘Señorita 89’ Renewed For Season 2, Dolores Heredia And Yoshira Escárrega Join As Series Regulars

Beauty pageant thriller Señorita 89 will return for a second season with new cast members on board. Lionsgate+, the premium international streaming service from STARZ (rebranded from Starzplay in September), today announced the renewal.

Set against the glamour of 1980s Mexico, Season 1 of the original series was launched earlier this year on Pantaya in the U.S. and on Lionsgate+ in Latin America and Spain. It became the streamer’s top performing ever in Mexico, with viewership increasing more than 243% from the premiere episode to the finale.

Co-produced by Fremantle and Fábula with Lucia Puenzo returning as showrunner, production kicks off October 17 in Mexico City. Dolores Heredia and Yoshira Escárrega join the cast as series regulars. Heredia (El Galán) will be La Madrina, mother of the cartels, who sees power and influence in Jocelyn (Leidi Gutiérrez). Escárrega (Toda La Sangre) arrives as Maribel Montaño, known as “La Santa” (The Saint).

In the first season of Señorita 89, Isabel (Natasha Dupeyrón, who made her U.S. film debut in September) was crowned and Concepción’s (Ilse Salas) La Encantada empire fell apart. The second season moves to the ‘90s as Mexico’s two main television networks battle to impose the next queen, at a time when efforts to revolutionize the beauty pageant to be more inclusive of darker-skinned contestants as potential winners are at play.

“After the incredible reception of the first season, both in Mexico and the rest of the world, it was an immense joy to receive the confirmation that there would be a second season,” said Lucia Puenzo, showrunner and screenwriter of the series. “In the second season, our protagonists have understood that nothing is achieved by asking for forgiveness or permission. They are ready to set fire to all limits, borders, privileges… and break once and for all, the stereotypes that say that only princesses have the right to exist.”

Puenzo and Salas spoke about the backdrop of the series ahead of the Season 1 premiere and how it “tackles many very relevant issues, such as social conditioning, beauty stereotypes, the objectification and sexualization of women.”

In addition to Salas, Dupeyrón and Gutiérrez, returning cast members include Ximena Romo, Juan Manuel Bernal (Monarca), Luis Ernesto Franco (False Identity), Edwarda Gurrola (Soy Tu Fan: La Película), Coty Camacho (Desenfrenadas), Juan Carlos Vives (Mr. Ávila) and Aida López (Monarca).

This eight-episode second season is executive produced by Pablo Larraín, Juan de Dios Larraín, Ángela Poblete and Mariane Hartard from Fabula and Christian Vesper at Fremantle. Lucía Puenzo, writes and directs. Also directing: Nicolás Puenzo, Silvia Quer and Jimena Montemayor. Fremantle will be in charge of international distribution.

Señorita 89 will be available on LIONSGATE+ in Latin America and Spain. No word yet on whether it will return to Pantaya, which was acquired by TelevisaUnivision in September.