Ahead of its upfront presentation on Friday, USA Network has picked up its drama pilot Queen Of The South to series with a 13-episode order for a 2016 premiere. The pilot was developed and produced by Fox 21 TV Studios (then Fox TV Studios), which will now co-produce with Universal Cable Prods.

Based on best-selling book La Reina Del Sur by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Queen Of The South tells the story of Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga). When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the Cartel. M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller (The Final Girls) wrote the pilot and are executive producing with David Friendly (Little Miss Sunshine) and Pancho Mansfield (Damien). Charlotte Sieling directed the pilot.

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“From script to inception, Queen Of The South had us hooked,” said USA Network president Chris McCumber. “Alice Braga does an outstanding job playing Teresa Mendoza, a determined woman who defies all odds, to not only survive, but to thrive in an unfamiliar world.”

This is not La Reina Del Sur‘s first TV adaptation in the U.S. Telemundo did a telenovela, which ran in 2011 to big ratings.

Queen Of The South was the last remaining pilot from USA’s 2014-15 slate whose fate had not been decided. It is the fourth of the batch to go to series, joining fellow dramas Complications — also from Fox 21 TV Studios — and Mr. Robot, both set to premiere in June, as well as Colony, which will debut in the fourth quarter.