{"id":1429,"date":"2015-06-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/"},"modified":"2016-01-26T17:20:09","modified_gmt":"2016-01-26T22:20:09","slug":"the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lord of the Skies’ Luis Zelkowicz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Telemundo\u2019s prime-time series The Lord of the Skies <\/em>(El Se\u00f1or de los Cielos<\/em>), currently in its third season, chronicles the saga of prominent Mexican drug lord Aurelio Casillas. In the show\u2019s latest run, Casillas is being held in a high-security prison guarded by the Mexican Navy, where he endures harsh tortures while plotting his escape.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong>The Casillas character\u2014based on a real-life drug kingpin nicknamed \u201cThe Lord of the Skies\u201d for his use of aircraft to deliver his product\u2014took shape in the mind of Venezuelan writer Luis Zelkowicz after years of research and interviews. Telemundo Internacional has already delivered the first two seasons to channels around the globe. The series last year received the first International Emmy for non-English-language U.S. prime-time program. The Lord of the Skies <\/em>has also been renewed for a fourth season.<\/p>\n

In this interview with TV Drama Weekly<\/em>, Zelkowicz, who also penned the telenovela Maid in Manhattan<\/em> (Una Maid en Manhattan<\/em>), discusses the origins of the series and how its success is helping to raise the bar for Latin American programming.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> The third season of The Lord of the Skies<\/em>, which you wrote, was recently released. How did the idea to bring this story to Telemundo come about?
\nZELKOWICZ:<\/strong> \u201cThe Lord of the Skies\u201d was a real character. I had already been working with a team for many years [to produce] a telenovela in Mexico that would feature [his story]. This character [is part] of Mexico\u2019s criminal history, of Mexico\u2019s drug-trafficking history.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> Were you surprised by the success of the series?
\nZELKOWICZ:<\/strong> Actually, from the beginning I knew I had something good on my hands, but I never imagined that audiences would embrace it so well. This success was due to\"***Image***\" a combination of several factors. There was good research on the one hand, a very good script, great work from casting, plus a very good job from the production and directing sides. So, all of that combined is what turned The Lord of the Skies<\/em> into an attractive proposition for audiences. Of course, I never imagined it would turn out so successful, and that has been a pleasant surprise. That [gave] us the steam to continue working on a second and third season.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> How have the story and the main character, Aurelio Casillas, evolved in the first two seasons? What can you tell us about season three?
\nZELKOWICZ:<\/strong> The interesting thing about Aurelio Casillas, about his entire family and the Casillas universe we developed for the series, is that it\u2019s all embedded within a real Mexican context. As we saw in the first and second season, Aurelio Casillas becomes involved in real events that occurred in Mexico, and that turns him into a phenomenon that contributes to the legend of \u201cThe Lord of the Skies\u201d character. When they\u2019re watching this series, people have the feeling that what they are seeing really happened, and somewhat this is true because we\u2019ve taken many [events] from real life. [In the third season], we\u2019ll see many more of Aurelio Casillas\u2019 adventures in his criminal world, where he makes somewhat surprising alliances. Villains have always been appealing to audiences. And for us, our protagonists are great villains.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> Last November, The Lord of the Skies<\/em> received the first International Emmy for best non-English-language U.S. prime-time program. What does this milestone mean for you as a writer, for the Telemundo team and also for the new season of The Lord of the Skies<\/em>?
\nZELKOWICZ:<\/strong> Of course, it\u2019s very emotional having received that award, and it has shown us many things. For one, that we\u2019re on the right track with what we are doing and that the public is rewarding us for it. And not only the Latino audience\u2014there is also an American audience that is watching Latino programs, and that fills us with satisfaction and demands much more of us. We know we have to continue on this same path, that we have new challenges and, increasingly, that we need to reach the same level as American productions. [This award means two things at once:] emotion and a big challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Telemundo\u2019s prime-time series The Lord of the Skies (El Se\u00f1or de los Cielos), currently in its third season, chronicles the saga of prominent Mexican drug lord Aurelio Casillas. In the show\u2019s latest run, Casillas is being held in a high-security prison guarded by the Mexican Navy, where he endures harsh tortures while plotting his escape. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-1429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","tag-telemundo"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Lord of the Skies' Luis Zelkowicz - TVNOVELAS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa\u0080\u0099-luis-zelkowicz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Lord of the Skies' Luis Zelkowicz - TVNOVELAS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Telemundo\u2019s prime-time series The Lord of the Skies (El Se\u00f1or de los Cielos), currently in its third season, chronicles the saga of prominent Mexican drug lord Aurelio Casillas. In the show\u2019s latest run, Casillas is being held in a high-security prison guarded by the Mexican Navy, where he endures harsh tortures while plotting his escape. …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa\u0080\u0099-luis-zelkowicz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVNOVELAS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-09T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-01-26T22:20:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/06\/Luis-Zelkowicz-e1453842219903.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"199\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"131\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"World Screen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"World Screen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/\",\"name\":\"The Lord of the Skies' Luis Zelkowicz - TVNOVELAS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-26T22:20:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#\/schema\/person\/48d5d8caeca98083bf34512b4ce8c4c7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Lord of the Skies’ Luis Zelkowicz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/\",\"name\":\"TVNOVELAS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#\/schema\/person\/48d5d8caeca98083bf34512b4ce8c4c7\",\"name\":\"World Screen\",\"description\":\"The leading source of information for the international media business.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Lord of the Skies' Luis Zelkowicz - TVNOVELAS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa\u0080\u0099-luis-zelkowicz\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Lord of the Skies' Luis Zelkowicz - TVNOVELAS","og_description":"Telemundo\u2019s prime-time series The Lord of the Skies (El Se\u00f1or de los Cielos), currently in its third season, chronicles the saga of prominent Mexican drug lord Aurelio Casillas. In the show\u2019s latest run, Casillas is being held in a high-security prison guarded by the Mexican Navy, where he endures harsh tortures while plotting his escape. …","og_url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa\u0080\u0099-luis-zelkowicz\/","og_site_name":"TVNOVELAS","article_published_time":"2015-06-09T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-01-26T22:20:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":199,"height":131,"url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/06\/Luis-Zelkowicz-e1453842219903.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"World Screen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"World Screen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/","name":"The Lord of the Skies' Luis Zelkowicz - TVNOVELAS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-06-09T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-26T22:20:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#\/schema\/person\/48d5d8caeca98083bf34512b4ce8c4c7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/the-lord-of-the-skiesa%c2%80%c2%99-luis-zelkowicz\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Lord of the Skies’ Luis Zelkowicz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/","name":"TVNOVELAS","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/#\/schema\/person\/48d5d8caeca98083bf34512b4ce8c4c7","name":"World Screen","description":"The leading source of information for the international media business.","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvnovelas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}