If you're anything like me, you've probably already watched all of Jessica Jones and are eagerly awaiting word of a second season. The deeply dark and exceptionally mature superhero series debuted on Netflix last Friday to wildly positive reviews and a whole lotta internet fanfare. Daredevil received a Season 2 renewal only eleven days after it premiered, so Jessica Jones fans are hoping to hear some good news in short order, but even if Marvel and Netflix give Season 2 the go-ahead (and really, why wouldn't they?), that doesn't mean we'll necessarily be seeing it any time soon.
See, Netflix and Marvel also have the superhero mash-up The Defenders on the docket, which will see the heroes of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist team up Avengers-style to face a currently unknown, but presumably big time baddie. Which means that scheduling a second season of Jessica Jones before the big crossover event could prove challenging.
When The Hollywood Reporter asked about the possibility of a second season, series creator Melissa Rosenberg replied,
I hope so. There certainly is storytelling wise. The question becomes is there actual time? There are logistics involved, because Defenders has to shoot by a certain time, contractually. Actually, I'm not sure; I'm not at all involved in those conversations, much to my dismay. The first question is whether or not we will even get a second season. The second question is, if so, when? Will it be before The Defenders or after? I'd certainly love it to be before but there are things that play into that — time, availability.
It remains to be seen if Jessica Jones will get an order for more episodes, but unless the show brought in drastically fewer viewers than it seems (which, by the way, we'll probably never know since Netflix famously doesn't release its ratings), it's hard to imagine that Marvel wouldn't want to see the series continue, especially since it's widely being touted as one of the finest works they've ever created.
There's also no reason to suspect that they couldn't get the ball rolling on production in time to beat out The Defenders. Daredevil headed into filming only months after getting renewed, the first season of Luke Cage is already in production, and the Iron Fist series (which Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb just clarified is still very much in the works) still has to be cast and filmed before The Defenders gets underway. So there's definitely still hope that Jessica Jones Season 2 could squeeze in before then.
And if you're hoping to see Rosenberg help bring Jessica Jones into the superhero team-up series, so is she. When asked if she was likely to be a part of The Defenders creative process, Rosenberg replied,
I'm a complete control freak when it comes to this character. I will do everything in my power to protect the character in whatever forms. They'll have to throw me kicking and screaming out of that building. But they own the property. They've really been inclusive thus far so I'm not really worried about it.
Hopefully Rosenberg will get to participate in The Defenders writers room, but not before she heads a second season of Jessica Jone, because she knocked it out of the park in bringing an unknown and antitypical female character to a large audience in a way that was challenging, gripping, and entertaining, and the entertainment landscape needs a whole lot more of that.
