Jessica Jones will take viewers back to Hell’s Kitchen, New York, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after Daredevil – the first of Marvel/Netflix’s four planned TV series (and one mini-series) – established the setting with its debut season during the first half of 2015. The show, as was created and is run by the Twilight franchise screenwriter and Dexter writer/producer Melissa Rosenberg, hits Netflix in a week (at the time of writing this); hence, the final trailer for Jessica Jones has now dropped online, while the next wave of early reviews for the series has washed up online
Based on the “Alias” comic book series from writer Brian Michael Bendis and illustrator Michael Gaydos, Jessica Jones revolves around the eponymous ex-superhero (Krysten Ritter of Breaking Bad and Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 fame), who now spends her days making a living as a private investigator on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen. However, when Zebediah Kilgrave a.k.a. The Purple Man (Doctor Who‘s David Tennant) – the supervillain responsible for ending Jessica’s superhero career – arrives and starts wreaking havoc in Hell’s Kitchen, Jessica soon realizes she’s the only one who can stop him.
The first batch of Jessica Jones reviews to drop online – following the screening of the pilot episode at the 2015 New York Comic-Con – were pretty much universally positive in their outlook towards the series, and that continues to be the case for the next round of reviews; some of which cover beyond the show’s first episode, at that. Have a look, below:
Deadline – Dominic Patten
The dark thriller starring Krysten Ritter and David Tennant [is] grown-up great and certainly binge appointment viewing. Like Marvel’s last Netflix offering Daredevil, which I loved, the NYC of Jessica Jones is grittier than real-life Manhattan in recent years. And compared to Supergirl,which I also loved — well, both the leads are obviously women but they are night-and -day different.
ComicBook – Lucas Siegel
That’s the way Jessica Jones impresses the most: how much it sticks with you. A month after viewing the pilot episode at New York Comic Con, there’s still so much there to analyze and decompress. The way backstory seeps in, the visceral and aggressive nature of the conversations, and the uncompromised presentation of a character who most people wouldn’t like if they met on the street, but somehow will love as the star of the show are all amazing achievements. Jessica Jones is something brand-new to superhero TV, and could really change the way people look at superhero storytelling in general.
Forbes – Merrill Barr
In no uncertain terms, Jessica Jones is the best thing Marvel Television has ever produced. It contains all the hopeful anticipation [of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.], all the feminist-overtones of Agent Carter and all the grittiness of Daredevil. While each of the aforementioned can be defended on their own merits, they are very much divisive (even the latter). It will, however, be very surprising if Jessica Jones ends up receiving a similar reaction from viewers.
… But, of course, not everyone is hot on Jessica Jones, as evidenced by the following excerpt (though it’s worth noting that show still earns an overall “B” grade in the full review):
EW – Melissa Maerz
[Jessica Jones is] a dark fantasy that reflects an all-too-real world, one where violence against women is an ever-present threat… All of this could’ve made for a gritty character drama if it weren’t for the noir clichés (saxophone music, shadows through glass) and a procedural structure that’s very CSI: Marvel. The show’s biggest weakness is the same as Jessica’s: It starts out with extraordinary potential, but somewhere along the way, it loses what make it special.
Marvel/Netflix has also unveiled a new poster for Jessica Jones, which you can check out below:
Jessica Jones, based on the early reviews, also contains more direct references and/or connections to the larger MCU than Daredevil before it. For example, Luke Cage (Mike Colter) will be a key recurring character on the series before he headlines his own Marvel/Netflix show, while Daredevil supporting player Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) is confirmed to make an appearance (or more) in Jessica Jones‘ first season too. Similarly, Carrie-Anne Moss’ character – Hell’s Kitchen-based attorney Jeryn Hogarth – will be introduced on Jessica Jones, presumably before she goes on to play a larger role in either the Luke Cage and/or Iron Fist Marvel/Netflix series (which is also expected to arrive sometime in 2016).
On top of that, the latest Jessica Jones reviews indicate that Jones’ superhero backstory on the show overlaps with the Avengers movie lore of the MCU – and episode summaries for Jessica Jones season 1 likewise hint that another familiar face from the MCU (The Man Without Fear himself?) shall show up at some point. Only one week to go now, until we find out for certain…
NEXT: Jessica Jones Image Gallery
Daredevil Season 1 is now available on Netflix. Jessica Jones will be available starting November 20th, 2015, followed by Luke Cage Season 1 and Daredevil Season 2 in 2016. Both Iron Fist and The Defenders will arrive sometime thereafter.
