‘Queen of the South’ Alice Braga returns for her final season as Teresa Mendoza

Teresa Mendoza’s story is coming to an end as “Queen of the South” begins its fifth and final season tonight, April 7th. Teresa, played by Alice Braga, was introduced to the world on June 23, 2016, and has become one of USA Network’s most beloved characters. The show aired consistently since 2016 each year for the first 4 seasons until 2019 then was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. The show started filming in Mexico then moved to Dallas, starting up again last fall in New Orleans. Tonight, fans will finally get to start watching what happened where they left off in 2019.

Sometimes we need lies to survive - Teresa

© USA Network Patti Perret

The series centers around Teresa, a Mexican woman forced to run from the drug cartel after her drug-runner boyfriend was murdered. After fleeing to America, she settles in Dallas before rising to become the country‘s reigning drug smuggler while avenging her lover’s murder. As noted by IndieWire, the series has managed to not strictly focus on the Norco lifestyle that has been glamorized or glorified by entertainment in the past and instead emphasizes how drug culture exploits women and minorities.

© USA Network Patti Perret

According to Braga, the final season will bring some of the most challenging moments for her character, especially with love. She told Entertainment Weekly, “The cartel world is very harsh, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.” Fans are eager to see the return of her partner in crime James Valdez, played by Peter Gadiot. James returned at the season 4 finale injured, warning Teresa, “They’re coming for you.” It’s clear that James loves Teresa but as Braga explains, “In this world, love weakens you. It puts you in a very dangerous situation because it can be used against you, to hurt you.” She told EW, “This happened to Teresa already in season 4 when they killed [her godson] Tony to hurt her. Season 5 will show a harsher Teresa and her struggles with James‘ return and coping with the loss of her godson.”

© USA Network Patti Perret

Kelly-Anne Van Awken,  is played by Molly Burnett and will play a pivotal role in season 5 as one of the show‘s most popular characters. Kelly-Anne was outed as a mole in season 3 but won back Teresa’s trust at the end of season 4. Braga suggested that Kelly-Anne will make it out alive. She told Entertainment Weekly, “Kelly Anne is this girl who in the beginning you see her being girly and kind of the wife of someone… Who turns out to be intelligent, smart, powerful, and the kick-ass girl who survives.”

The Season 5 premiere of Queen of the South airs tonight (April 7) from 10:05-11:06 p.m. ET on USA Network with a repeat at 1:06 a.m. ET. Seasons 1-4 are available to binge right now on Netflix and Season 5 is expected on the streaming service on April 7, 2022.