2019 was a big and somewhat disappointing year for Krysten Ritter and her legion of fans. For one, her big Netflix drama Jessica Jones got cancelled in a parcel deal with The Punisher, though still months and months before Season 3 was released. On the flip side, Ritter made a cameo appearance in Netflix's El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which was a very long-awaited return. Now, the actress is gearing up to make her first TV return since her days as a Marvel superhero.
For the new project, which is currently still untitled, Krysten Ritter will be reteaming with her old boss, Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23's creator Nahnatchka Khan. Expect some Killing Eve vibes coming off of this one, as it's a dark comedy about a female serial killer. It's based off of the upcoming novel Serial Killer Anonymous by author Charles Warady.
The project, while new, has nonetheless already earned a lot of attention in Hollywood. According to Deadline, a variety of different entertainment hubs are having a bidding war to become the exclusive home for a dark new Krysten Ritter TV show. In the running are many of the usual suspects: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Max and FX. NBCU's Universal TV will be the studio producing the project, so it's interesting that no networks, or the impending Peacock streaming service, made this shortlist.
Just because Krysten Ritter isn't portraying Jessica Jones anymore doesn't mean that all Marvel TV synergy will be absent from the serial killer dramedy. Nahnatchka Khan will be co-writing the attention-grabbing project with Angela LaManna, who was a writer and story editor on Netflix's The Punisher across both of its seasons. (All three will be executive producing.) LaManna is clearly familiar with dark material, as her Punisher work is complimented by writing up episodes of Channel Zero: Butcher Block by joining the upcoming Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor and Behind Her Eyes.
It's a key point in Nahnatchka Khan to begin developing another TV show with a recognizable star, as her ABC creation Fresh Off the Boat was cancelled late last year, with its final Season 6 episodes airing this spring. As well, Khan entered into an overall deal with Universal TV in the past year, and she's already landed an NBC series order for the genius comedy series Young Rock, based on the life of Dwayne Johnson, who will also shop up in episodes as well as serve as an executive producer.
Nahnatchka Khan and her company Fierce Baby Productions have another project in the running as well. Over at ABC, Khan has the L.A. private school comedy Valley Trash waiting on a positive green light, which will end up being contingent on what kind of cast is brought together.
Having made her TV debut on the oft-forgotten sitcom Whoopi, Krysten Ritter's first big noteworthy breaks were on the fanbase-friendly dramedies Veronica Mars (as Gia Goodman) and Gilmore Girls (as Lucy). Of course, she reached TV infamy in 2009 with her role as Jane Margolis in Breaking Bad, and it's baffling to think she also spent 2009 in the Jon Heder-starring horror-comedy Wake Up Dead. It was after the under-cooked black comedy Gravity that Ritter and Nahnatchka Khan combined forces for Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23, which gained a minor cult following despite getting cancelled in the midst of its second season.
Will Krysten Ritter be TV's next Dexter, or will she hew closer to Jodie Comer's Villanelle in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Killing Eve? That show will be back for Season 3 at some point in 2020, but it's not at all clear when we'll find out something new about Ritter's new show. Keep your Jessica Jones-strength ears to the ground while waiting for updates, and head to our Winter and Spring TV schedule to see what shows are definitely premiering soon.
