Teresa Will Continue to Expand Her Empire in Season 4 of 'Queen of the South' (Spoilers)

The crime drama Queen of the South finally returns with an all-new season. The show follows the journey of a young woman who escapes from Mexico to America seeking refuge after her drug-dealing boyfriend was killed. Season 4 will continue to follow Teresa Mendoza (played by Alice Braga) as she navigates the world of the drug cartel.  

Heading to New Orleans, Teresa hopes to continue to build her empire on the East Coast even after the loss she’s suffered.

"Teresa’s becoming the CEO of her ‘company’ in an odd way. She’s going to have to contend with new antagonists in a new city,” executive producers Dailyn Rodriguez and Ben Lobato told Soap Hub. "She’s going to have a bar that is her legitimate business.” 

During Season 3, Teresa is reunited with her long-lost boyfriend, Guero, who has been captured and tortured by Camila and the General. While trying to escape with Teresa, Guero is shot and ultimately dies of his injuries in the getaway car, his head in Teresa's lap. 

"Every death changes her. Brenda dying. Guero dying. It’s the casualties of this kind of business,” Dailyn explained. "There’s a slow attrition of her soul. It’s the reality of her circumstances. Guero is the person who brought her into this world. We’re building to this character who will be the woman in white, the Queen. You do that by slowly chipping away at her humanity."  

The Dailyn and Ben told the outlet that building a network of people around Teresa will be at the forefront of the season. 

"There’s been a thematic element since the beginning of the show – that love can’t survive in this world," Ben shared. "You don’t get to be the head of a cartel and have this wonderful love affair. She’s always been someone who feels she can have both." 

And losing the love of her life won't be the last bad thing to happen to Teresa. 

"Losing her boyfriend is a step closer to showing how she’ll have to change," Ben said. “This season she’ll suffer more tragedy and we bring her two steps closer to being the ‘woman in white.'"

The actress opened up about her character’s growth, telling Meaww, "I think that's the main thing about this season, (it's about) how to keep the ball rolling and being in charge of it. A new challenge and a new city for Teresa; it's exciting!"  

She added: "It's a new moment for Teresa as a woman — more mature, more at risk. The more power you have, the more people want to kill you." Well, we’ll certainly see Teresa’s power grow. 

Season 4 will see Teresa taking over the entire Vargas cartel in Mexico. However, with great power comes great responsibility for Teresa. 

"Teresa slowly starts to realize that her abilities aren’t always going to solve the problem,"  Ben shared. "She’ll see that being at the top may mean having to break her own moral code." 

Watch Queen of the South Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network.