Season eight of El Señor de los Cielos (The Lord of the Skies) starts on Telemundo January 17. Rafael Amaya portrays legendary drug lord Aurelio Casillas. Left for dead in season seven, Casillas shows he’s hardly out of the game.

“More invincible than ever, he returns to mercilessly avenge all he has lost,” Telemundo said in press materials.

“We are beyond proud of what our extraordinary cast and production team accomplished with this production in Mexico, a season to remember that defies expectations with its scope and compelling story,” said Karen Barroeta, executive VP of production and development at Telemundo Global Studios. “Having Rafa Amaya return in his most iconic role lit the fuse. Fans will be delighted to see their favorite characters and meet new ones in this dramatic action-packed season of one of the most venerable television series.”

Carmen Aub, Iván Arana, Isabella Castillo and Alejandro López are also in the cast.

The new season sees Casillas hidden in the desert by his enemies in the DEA. Striking a powerful union with allies from previous seasons, Casillas faces new romantic entanglements while dealing with unexpected family mysteries as he enacts his cunning plan of revenge.

Set in Mexico and the Caribbean, season eight is written by Luis Zelcowicz and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia, Conrado Martínez, Mauricio Meneses and Bernardo Mota. Karen Barroeta, Ximena Cantuarias and Harold Sánchez are executive producers. ■

The July 18 three-hour finale of Telemundo’s El Señor de los Cielos was a hit with viewers and on social media, the network said.

The season four finale averaged 2.64 million total viewers, 1.48 million adults 18-49 and 753,000 adults 18-34 in the 8-11 p.m. period, Telemundo said, and it “reached” 4.57 million viewers (meaning they watched for at least 6 minutes), per Nielsen. It also was the top-rated Spanish-language program in its time period in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and New York among total viewers and adults 18-49, Telemundo said.

During its full run, the “super series” (a faster-paced, action-oriented scripted drama designed to run several seasons) averaged 1.96 million total viewers and 1.14 million adults 18-49.

The NBCUniversal-owned network said the El Señor de los Cielos finale also was the top-rated social primetime show in broadcast across all networks, regardless of language. It also generated 150,000 downloads and 321,000 user interactions of NBCU’s Double Acción app, which lets viewers interact with the series as it is playing via specially-produced extra content.

El Señor de los Cielos stars Rafael Amaya as legendary 90s Mexican drug lord Aurelio Casillas, whose ambition was to become one of the richest and most powerful men in Mexico

Telemundo’s “super series” El Señor de los Cielos rocketed back onto the network’s lineup March 28, with its season-four premiere ranking as the highest-rated debut in network history.

The telenovela, starring Rafael Amaya as Aurelio Casillas, was the No. 1 broadcast program at 10 p.m. among adults 18-34 on March 28, according to Nielsen data supplied by Telemundo. It’s also a top social-media performer, ranking as Facebook’s No. 1 most-social primetime show among all networks, regardless of language. The show has garnered more than 6.3 million Facebook “likes” worldwide and has generated a total of more than 1.4 million Facebook and Twitter actions, Telemundo reported.

That should please AT&T, which signed on to be the exclusive sponsor of Telemundo's Double Acción app just in time for its extensive use by Señor viewers. The Double Acción app will be available on the Apple iOS and Android platforms.

Throughout season four, fans of El Señor de lost Cielos can directly engage with the show on the app through “Reacción,” which enables social-media conversation through live viewer participation and in-show interactions.

In particular, a new real-time media experience with the network’s Double Acción app complements the original content in season four’s final episodes. Fans can "insert themselves into the action through the app," which offers unique interactions that sync up with the series as it airs, the network said.

The app also offers exclusive content such as videos, photos and the El Señor de los Cielos interactive game, available on all Telemundo.com digital platforms and social media, including Facebook. The game lets fans interact face to face with “Aurelio” and help him escape from death. Users can customize the game and follow a range of alternative outcomes.

“AT&T is helping Telemundo raise the Hispanic media experience to the next level, applying the latest multi-screen innovation to one of our most popular shows,” Mike Rosen, executive VP of advertising sales, news and Hispanic groups at NBCUniversal, said in a statement.

Leonardo Torréss, AT&T’s executive director of Hispanic marketing, added, "Bringing this multiscreen, real-time experience to our consumers is one more example of our integrated approach to communications and entertainment as a premier first-choice provider."

The sponsorship’s on-air elements include content capsules during commercial breaks prompting the audience to participate; weekly segments on Un Nueva Dia, Telemundo’s weekday morning show; and primetime promos to drive viewers to the app. As part of the initiative, weekly social recap videos are posted on Facebook to keep fans engaged.

Additional digital elements include a “Rank It” tool, photo galleries and bonus “Reacción” questions. There are also AT&T-branded opportunities to interact with the Double Acción app during episodes of El Señor de los Cielos.