jessica jones

Netflix and chill with Marvel’s superhero-turned-PI .

Never heard of Jessica Jones? Just wait. Marvel’s newest heroine is about to smash her way onto Netflix in a bruising 13-episode series – and she’s taking no prisoners.

“Jessica Jones is a brawler. She gets drunk, she gets pissed off and boom, you’re down,” says Melissa Rosenberg, the Emmy-nominated writer brought in to run the show, which debuts on Netflix in full on 20 November. Drawing on comic series Alias, Jessica Jones follows the titular heroine, an ex-superhero who’s set up shop as a private detective in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, exposing the cheaters and liars populating her neighbourhood.

Just because she shares a zip code with Matt Murdock’s Daredevil, though, doesn’t mean she’s similarly dedicated to trampling criminals. “Jessica is about paying rent and getting the next client,” Rosenberg explains. “She’s dealing with a fairly dark past. She’s trying to get through the day.” That’s made all the more difficult when a ghost from her past rears its ugly head in the form of big bad Kilgrave (David Tennant), a deadly mind manipulator bearing a grudge.

It’s a big role for Krysten Ritter, the 33-yearold actress cast as Jessica Jones. Though best known for comedies like Don’t Trust The B---- In Apartment 23, Ritter’s dark turn in the second season of Breaking Bad proved she’s capable of taking on gritty material – and by all accounts, Jessica Jones doesn’t go easy on her. “We pushed her to some really dark, emotional places, and she just keeps going there,” Rosenberg enthuses.

With Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Daredevil guest-starrer Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) also appearing throughout the season, this is just the next stage in Marvel’s TV take-over. Daredevil’s second season already has a green light, and Luke Cage is getting his own show in 2016, ahead of a solo series for Iron Fist. Hell’s Kitchen is about to get a lot busier... JW

ETA | 20 November Jessica Jones Season One will stream on Netflix next month.