The first season of Netflix's Jessica Jones was as excellent as anything else in Marvel's live-action library, in large part because of the well-crafted relationship between the titular badass and her nemesis Kilgrave. Jessica will be moving on in Season 2, though we're not quite sure where that will be, since it isn't scheduled to premiere until after The Defenders brings the street-level heroes together. If you're like me, you're wondering how this interconnected process will go down, and Jessica Jones' showrunner Melissa Rosenberg has thankfully explained how the creative teams are handling things.
My colleagues Marco Ramirez and Doug Petrie, who are doing Defenders, they've shared material. We've sat down for many conversations about what are they doing, what's happening with Jessica? They want my input, they want all the different showrunners' input on the characters that they're most familiar with. . . . They enjoy collaboration, which is not always the case, and they listen, and we listen to them. We're really trying to find a way to respond to the things that they want to do, and them to respond to the things we want to do. So far so good. It's working out.
That's a pretty fantastic way of tackling the complicated process of telling a story with a character that's currently in someone else's hands. Melissa Rosenberg no doubt has lots of ideas and tentative plans for where Jessica's life is headed in the second season, but those ideas and plans are somewhat hindered by how the character is used in The Defenders, so a lack of strong communication between everyone involved would be inauspicious at best.
It's awesome to hear that Marco Ramirez and Doug Petrie are so welcoming when it comes to all the other creators' input. (The two men ran Daredevil in Season 2, so that part's covered, but there's also Luke Cage's Cheo Hodari Coker and Iron Fist's Scott Buck.) If Rosenberg wants something to happen in Jessica Jones Season 2, like a specific scene somewhere in Jessica's apartment, then she can relate that to Ramirez and Petrie, who will now know not to start off the second Defenders episode by completely destroying Jessica's apartment building. Similarly, the Defenders duo can share with Rosenberg their desires for the character, or any others they may want to use, and agreements can be made that please all involved.
As far as narrative-based elements we can expect from Season 2 that won't be heavily affected by The Defenders, Melissa Rosenberg told EW that she's very interested in further exploring the chemistry between Jessica and Trish. She sees their friendship and sisterhood as the core relationship of the show, and how each displays attributes that the other is envious of. Not a lot of asskicking and throwing people through doors with that as a focus, but I'll never rail on someone for putting characters first.
While the basic schedule of Marvel's Netflix shows is known, we're still not sure of an exact date when The Defenders will premiere, meaning Jessica Jones' Season 2 debut date is even more of a mystery. In the meantime, though, Luke Cage will make Harlem the hottest spot in New York when it premieres on Friday, September 30. To see when all of the streaming giant's originals will premiere this year, check out our Netflix premiere schedule.
