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. ■

NEW YORK -- Rafael Amaya, star of the popular, Emmy Award-winning, Spanish-language Telemundo super series El Señor de los Cielos (“Lord of the Skies”), which just launched its fifth season on June 20, will be the 2017 recipient of the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television. 

Amaya will accept the award (from Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News) at a special luncheon ceremony, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., during the 15th annual Hispanic Television Summit on Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Sheraton New York Hotel.

Mr. Amaya is being recognized for a career which has propelled him to becoming one of the best-known actors in both Spanish- and English-language television today. His career includes starring roles in successful Telemundo Network original productions, theater, movies, and television series. This leading man has also served as co-host of The Billboard Mexican Music Awards and The Billboard Latin Music Awards.

“We are especially excited to be recognizing the achievements of this outstanding, popular actor and musician, who continues to attract millions of viewers to every episode of the successful, long-running super series,” said Louis Hillelson, the magazines' vice president and group publisher. “This is the quinceañera year for the Summit, and Mr. Amaya is receiving our legacy award which has been presented to other television leaders over the past fifteen years.” 

Past recipients of the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television include other on-air celebrities like Mario Kreutzberger, better known as “Don Francisco;” Andrés Cantor; Cristina Saralegui; Lucero; Raúl De Molina and Lili Estefan; news anchors Jorge Ramos, María Elena Salinas, José Díaz-Balart and María Celeste Arrarás; boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya and advertising executives P&G’s Edgar Sandoval and Monica Gadsby of Publicis Groupe.    

The Hispanic Television Summit is the most popular and longest running annual event for executives in the business of television and video for Hispanic audiences, worldwide. It attracts nearly 500 executives from the U.S., Latin America and Europe, produced for NewBay Media by the Schramm Marketing Group. This year, the summit will be one of a series of conferences and events to be presented during NYC TV and Video Week, Oct. 16-19, 2017.   

To enjoy the early bird rate for this Summit, register by Monday, Sept. 11, at https://nbmedia.swoogo.com/TVWEEK2017.

To learn more about the 15th Annual Hispanic Television Summit, visit www.hispanictvsummit.com.