Jessica Jones is an American streaming television series created for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is the second in a series of shows that lead up to a Defenders crossover miniseries.

The series stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, with Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville, and Carrie-Anne Moss also starring. They were joined by Mike Colter, Wil Traval, Erin Moriarty, and David Tennant for the first season, J. R. Ramirez, Terry Chen, Leah Gibson and Janet McTeer for the second season, and Benjamin Walker, Sarita Choudhury, Jeremy Bobb and Tiffany Mack for the third season. In addition to original characters, several characters based on various Marvel properties also appear throughout the series.

Ritter and Colter reprise their roles in the Marvel Studios Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present).

Overview Character Portrayed by Appearances First Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Main characters Jessica Jones Krysten Ritter "AKA Ladies Night" colspan="3" Luke Cage Mike Colter Trish Walker Rachael Taylor colspan="3" Will Simpson Wil Traval "AKA It's Called Whiskey" Hope Shlottman Erin Moriarty "AKA Ladies Night" colspan="2" Malcolm Ducasse Eka Darville colspan="3" Jeri Hogarth Carrie-Anne Moss colspan="3" Kilgrave David Tennant colspan="2" Oscar Arocho J. R. Ramirez "AKA Start at the Beginning" Pryce Cheng Terry Chen Inez Green Leah Gibson "AKA God Help the Hobo" Alisa Jones Miriam Shor "AKA WWJD?" colspan="2" Janet McTeer "AKA Sole Survivor" Erik Gelden Benjamin Walker "AKA The Perfect Burger" colspan="2" Kith Lyonne Sarita Choudhury colspan="2" Gregory Sallinger Jeremy Bobb colspan="2" Zaya Okonjo Tiffany Mack colspan="2" Recurring characters Pam "AKA Ladies Night" colspan="2" Wendy Ross-Hogarth Robin Weigert colspan="2" Nicole Nichole Yannetty Ruben Kieran Mulcare "AKA Crush Syndrome" colspan="2" Oscar Clemons Clarke Peters colspan="2" Robyn Colby Minifie colspan="2" Clair Danielle Ferland "AKA 99 Friends" colspan="2" Emma Gillian Glasco colspan="2" Jackson Ryan Farrell colspan="2" Donald Paul Pryce colspan="2" Louise Thompson Lisa Emery colspan="2" Dorothy Walker Rebecca De Mornay "AKA Top Shelf Perverts" colspan="2" Albert Thompson Michael Siberry "AKA WWJD?" colspan="2" Griffin Sinclair Hal Ozsan "AKA Start at the Beginning" Steven Benowitz Maury Ginsberg Vido Arocho Kevin Chacon Eddy Costa John Ventimiglia "AKA Freak Accident" colspan="2" Ruth Sunday Lisa Tharps Karl Malus Callum Keith Rennie "AKA The Octopus" Shane Ryback Eden Marryshow "AKA Ain't We Got Fun" Char Rachel McKeon "AKA Playland" Gillian Aneesh Sheth "AKA The Perfect Burger" colspan="2" Grace Jessica Frances Dukes colspan="2" Brianna Gelden Jamie Neumann "AKA I Wish" colspan="2"

Main characters

Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones (portrayed by Krysten Ritter) is a former superhero with the abilities of superhuman strength and flight, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after Kilgrave enslaved her for eight months and made her kill Luke Cage's wife, Reva Connors; after Jones gives up the superhero life, she opens her own detective agency, Alias Investigations.

By November 2014, Ritter, Alexandra Daddario, Teresa Palmer, Jessica De Gouw and Marin Ireland were being tested for the role of Jessica Jones, with Ritter having been auditioning since October and on the top of executive producer and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg's list for playing Jones, even when Rosenberg was earlier developing the series for ABC. The next month, Ritter was cast in the role. Ritter and Palmer had been the final candidates, with both auditioning opposite Mike Colter to test chemistry. Ritter stated that she read through Alias in preparation for the role and expressed delight in working with Rosenberg. On adapting the character from the comics, Jeph Loeb stated, "Jessica Jones [i]s based on a much more adult comic. The source material came that way. She has real problems with a number of things that she abuses! And we're not shying away from that. There's no tidying her up." Ritter called playing the character the "biggest acting challenge" in her career and praised the character development. She explained that when she was playing the character, she took "a lot from the comics because she's so well-drawn. We have some lines that are pulled from the comics, but then the script—she's as developed for television as she is in the comics". Ritter put on of muscle for the role and trained for two months before filming began. Elizabeth Cappuccino portrayed a young Jessica.

Series costume designer Stephanie Maslansky was assisted on the first episode by Jenn Rogien, who crafted Jessica Jones' leather jacket, faded jeans, and boots costume. On Jessica's costume, Maslansky said she "considers her clothing to be an armor and a shield and something that helps her maintain a distance from other people and privacy. It keeps her from having to deal with the rest of humanity in a certain sort of way." At least 10 versions of Jessica's jacket were made, which started as an Acne Studios leather motorcycle jacket that had any "bells and whistles and any additional superfluous design details" removed, while 20 pairs of jeans were used, with both being aged and distressed.

Ritter described the character by saying that "she goes about things in a very odd way, she's very rough around the edges, and dry and sarcastic and a total asshole sometimes. But I think at her core she's a good person." Comparing the character to Matt Murdock in Marvel's Daredevil, Rosenberg said, "They're very different kinds of characters. Jessica is about paying rent and getting the next client. She's dealing with a fairly dark past. She's trying to get through the day. She's not really trying to save the city. She's trying to save her apartment. At her core, she does share something with Matt Murdock, and he's a little more aware of it, that she wants to do something good. She wants to contribute to the world. But, there are a lot of personality issues for her that can get in the way. ... Matt Murdock has been studying martial arts. He has extraordinary fighting skills. Jessica Jones is a brawler. She gets drunk, she gets pissed off and boom, you're down. She doesn't wear a costume. She doesn't have a mask. She's just who she is. She's an extremely blunt, direct person, and that applies to the action, as well."

Ritter was nominated for the 6th Critics' Choice Television Awards' Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Jones.

Ritter reprised the role in the second and third seasons of the Marvel Studios Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2026–27).

Luke Cage

Luke Cage (portrayed by Mike Colter) is a man with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, with a mysterious past that Jones encounters in the course of an investigation and who changes her life immensely.

In November 2014, Lance Gross, Colter, and Cleo Anthony were in contention for the role of Luke Cage, which was envisioned as a recurring role in the series before headlining Marvel's Luke Cage. Colter was confirmed in the role the next month, having signed on for the series, and others, without reading any scripts, and being drawn to the series because of its opportunity to have character exploration, which he felt was lacking in the MCU films. He put on of muscle for the role. Rosenberg noted that because Cage has his own series to explore who he is, she represents him as "a man of few words" rather than trying to say anything about who he is in particular. Colter was pleased and surprised that the audience "got" the character, as Luke "was a man of few words and a lot of subtext," which "was refreshing because we were going for this character in a way that said little but spoke volumes because of their past history together. I felt people got the subtleties." When Loeb described the character to Colter, he said "that Luke doesn't have to try hard at anything. It just happens." This helped Colter form the character, along with using his opposite personal experience of having to work hard for everything. Colter also credited Rosenberg and S. J. Clarkson with helping him "get on the right track" with the character in the early episodes. Maslansky felt that Cage was also someone "who wears his clothing like an armor," with his wardrobe consisting of T-shirts, jeans, leather jackets or an army jacket.

Colter described the character as "a neighborhood hero, very much linked to New York and Jessica Jones. [He] is a darker, grittier, more tangible character than Iron Man or Thor. He likes to keep things close to his chest, operate on the hush-hush. He has these abilities but he's not sure how and when to use them." Loeb said the character "is important to the show, and he is certainly important to the story of Jessica Jones and who she is. It would not be Jessica Jones unless you at least understood how Luke affected her life and where she is." He also added that the series sees Luke Cage "not quite in the middle, but in the early part of the middle" of his story, and that Luke Cage allows Marvel to "tell a great deal of story that happens before, and a great deal of story that happens afterwards."

Colter reprised the role in the second season finale of Daredevil: Born Again (2026), and is set to return in its third season (2027).

Trish Walker / Hellcat

Patricia "Trish" Walker (portrayed by Rachael Taylor) is a former model and child star known as "Patsy" who is Jones' adoptive sister and best friend and now works as a radio host. Trish became envious of her sister having powers and putting them to waste. Following Simpson's death, she began using his Combat Enhancer Inhaler to avoid feeling powerless. When the inhaler stopped working, she turned to Karl Malus, the man who had given her sister powers in the first place. Trish is depicted as the main antagonist of the third season of Jessica Jones as the vigilante serial killer "Hellcat".Following Trish's arrest, she was sentenced to the Raft.

Taylor was cast in January 2015. The role of Jones' best friend was intended for the character of Carol Danvers when Rosenberg was developing the series at ABC, but was changed to Walker due to the changing nature of the MCU and that Danvers would appear in her own film. Rosenberg ultimately found this to be "much more appropriate...it was better that [Jessica's] best friend was not someone with powers. It actually ends up being a really great mirror for her." Speaking about the character, Loeb said, "what's most important is the relationship between her and Jessica, and how these two women who are, in some ways, sisters, in terms of their friendship, could be that different, and yet believe in the same kinds of things. That question of, what is it to be a hero and the responsibilities that you have when you have abilities, is something that brings them together, but also continually pushes them apart. I think we're very lucky to have Melissa as a writer because she really grasps the insight of what it is to have a friendship with a woman, and the way that two women can actually be competitive and friendly, and love each other and hate each other, and have a history with each other." Taylor added that Jessica "was the first person to not care about the exterior parts of Patsy Walker or Trish Walker. She was the first person to see her for who she really was". Catherine Blades portrayed a young Trish.