A quartet of trailblazers who defied strict social norms to become Mexico’s first female police force are at the heart of the much-anticipated Spanish-language drama Women in Blue.
Launching on Apple TV Plus, the 10-part mystery – also known as Las Azules – has been filmed with an entirely Hispanic cast and crew, and is inspired by true events that unfolded in the North American country in the early 1970s.
The plot follows disenchanted housewife Mariá (played by Bárbara Mori) and her fearless younger sister Valentina (Natalia Téllez), along with socially awkward fingerprint analyst Ángeles (Ximena Sariñana) and sheltered homebody Gabina (Amorita Rasgado), as they proudly report for duty with Mexico City’s police department.
They have very different reasons for signing up, but forge a tight-knit unit when they realize their recruitment is a brazen publicity stunt, orchestrated to deflect negative press from the brutal unsolved murders of an active serial killer dubbed ‘The Undresser’.
Viewed as glorified secretaries - their uniforms are miniskirts, main duties involve filing paperwork and, on patrol, they’re ‘armed’ with whistles and loose change so they can phone their male counterparts if they spot a crime!
As the body count mounts, they decide to carry out a clandestine investigation under the nose of their chauvinistic colleagues to catch the killer.
Here stars Bárbara, Natalia, Ximena and Amorita in Mexico join What To Watch for an exclusive interview to introduce us to their characters and explain why this is a story that needs to be told…
Women in Blue cast
MARIÁ
Bárbara Mori, 46, on why demur housewife Mariá becomes a force to be reckoned with after discovering her husband’s affair…
“Mariá is a dedicated mother of two and a loyal wife to architect Alejandro [Leonardo Sbaraglia], who has believed all her life that the secret to happiness was to have a good husband - until her perception of that reality is shaken.
“She has grown up limited by what society allows her to be, until she joins the police force and meets strong women who inspire her to discover her true potential - including jumping out of a plane during training!
“Initially, these women don’t express opinions or confront the male policemen who wrong them. Can you imagine going out to the streets to work in those very short miniskirts? But then they discover what they are capable of doing and in María’s case, that attitude shift also happens at home.
“What’s great about this is, when they start using their voices and fighting for their dreams, everything starts to change.”
VALENTINA
Natalia Téllez, 38, on her character’s mission to shake up the status quo for women from inside Mexico City’s police force…
“Mariá’s sister Valentina is one of those rebellious spirits, who's pushing out of the mould and always at demonstrations or protests. When she sees the call to train female officers she thinks, “I can go into the system and detonate it from the inside”, which is why she joins the academy and finds herself in this macho environment.
“Showrunner [Fernando Rovzar] met with real women who actually joined up at this time and documented many things directly from them. I felt a high sense of responsibility when they came on set during filming because they’re not just characters - we’re representing people who were there and are pathfinders for others.
“Also the story of The Undresser is based on a real case, documented by the press in 1971, and it's an important one, as it was one of the first serial killer investigations in Mexico.
“Women in Blue is a powerful story, as it shows how these women come together from their differences.”
GABINA
Amorita Rasgado, 35, on portraying a woman disowned by her high-ranking inspector father and detective brother for following in their policing footsteps…
“Gabina has wanted to be a police officer ever since she was a girl.
“She’s never been on her own and initially lacks courage until she ends up living with Valentina. She suddenly learns she was living a life with no freedom and finds the strength she needs to stand up to her father.
“These women are on the lookout for [a killer] and looking for missing women. But in spite of their adversities and the things they have to confront, they all come together and grow together.
Everything Gabina didn’t get at home, she gets from her fellow Azules [Blues]. From María, she finds someone who will lead her, from Ángeles she learns to see things from a different perspective and in Valentina she has someone she can tell things to.”
ÁNGELES
Ximena Sariñana, 38, on playing a brilliant but lonely analyst on the autism spectrum, harboring dreams of a romantic relationship…
“Ángeles lives with her abuela [grandmother], and her reason for going into the police force is very logical because that's how her brain works. For her, it's all about earning more money because their stove isn't working and she needs to figure out a way of affording to fix it!
“In those times it was very difficult to be different, and it’s something that she struggles with. She isn’t the typical, gracious, social butterfly as expected from women in order to get a boyfriend or or a husband.
“Once she joins the police force, however, she meets all these amazing and interesting women and, for the first time, feels valued and validated and not like she’s a weirdo.
“When I first walked onto the police department set, I was taken aback because the art department has done a phenomenal job of bringing that era to life. The very short miniskirt uniforms are something special too, but very uncomfortable. The real police women told us theirs were actually shorter!”
Women In Blue launches on Apple TV Plus on Wednesday, July 31 2024. The first two episodes of the ten-episode drama will premiere on that date, with subsequent episodes released weekly until September 25, 2024.
