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Future Netflix series will tell the story of the relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
05 June 2026
The intense and frequently destructive relationship between Kahlo and Rivera is the focus of a new drama being developed by the Netflix. According to El Pays, the project's directors, Mexican filmmakers Patricia Riggen and Gabriel Ripstein, have a clear vision even though it is still in the writing stage and has not yet been given a start date for production.
The publications claim that their intention is not to produce another conventional historical drama with recognizable imagery and conventional plots. Rather, they aim to dismantle decades of mythology and expose the complex individuals who are responsible for the legends. In an interview with El Pays, the directors stated, "We want it to be very mischievous, transgressive, fun, and modern."
Many younger viewers, according to Riggen, are more familiar with Kahlo as a commercial figure than as a revolutionary artist. She wants therefore to explore her personality, ambition, humor, and resilience in an effort to try and change that. Riggen asserts that Kahlo was much more than the tragic character frequently depicted in popular culture. She characterizes her as a clever, defiant young woman with a great sense of humor and an innate propensity to defy social conventions.
Frida “wasn’t truly recognized during her lifetime,” the director said. “Her work was only exhibited once, at the end of her life,” she added. “She was a very funny young woman. She had an incredible sense of humor and was always disruptive, but she grew up in a very particular era, in the shadow of a giant of a man. Diego was the most famous painter in Mexico,” Riggen points out.
“It’s quite a complex, funny, and macabre duo. It’s pretty brilliant,” adds Ripstein. El Pays revealed that he is interested in portraying a “man in a midlife crisis, professionally at his peak, but whose personal life is falling apart,” and a “rebellious young woman who has to make a series of decisions after her plans are derailed by an accident.” And ultimately, “how they complement each other, how they need each other, how they hate each other, hurt each other, or love each other.”
One of the most difficult aspects of the project is still casting. Riggen is certain that there are plenty of gifted actresses in Mexico who could play Kahlo. But it might be harder to find the right Rivera. Few modern actors naturally possess the muralist's unique appearance and commanding physical presence.
Click here for the article from El Pays.
