Krysten Ritter Talks Jessica Jones & ‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Roles

Fresh from her appearance at San Diego Comic Con, Krysten Ritter is opening up about her “major career moments” this year.

Ritter is currently starring as sommelier and serial killer Mia Lapierre, aka Lady Vengeance, in Showtime’s Dexter: Resurrection. On Thursday, she was part of a panel at SDCC for the show, appearing alongside co-stars Michael C. Hall, David Zayas, James Remar, Jack Alcott, David Dastmalchian, and executive producers Clyde Phillips and Scott Reynolds. New episodes drop Friday nights on Paramount+ with Showtime.

She will also reprise the fan-favorite role of Jessica Jones in the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again for Season 2, which is currently in production. Ritter first played the character in the eponymous Netflix series, which ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2019.

Ritter spoke to Deadline on Monday morning about taking on two killer roles, and her connection with Hall, who, like her with Jessica Jones, is reprising the character Dexter Morgan in a continuation series from Clyde Phillips.

“It really is,” Ritter said about jumping back into character as Jessica Jones with ease. “You play a character for this long, and Michael and I connected over this, too. Those characters that get into your body and your cells, and how slipping back into it was really easy, exciting, and fun. And it felt like everybody was thrilled that Jessica was back. Now, there’s going to be more layers to her and more to play for me, and that’s exciting to revisit a character that I worked so hard on that I love so much and so do the fans. She’s just one of the coolest characters ever.”

When fans noticed earlier this year that she was in New York, it led to speculation that she would be back in a hoodie, leather jacket, and denim, rejoining the MCU. However, Deadline revealed exclusively in February that Ritter had locked a major guest arc on Dexter: Resurrection. However, only months later, her casting in Daredevil: Born Again was confirmed at Disney’s Upfront presentation.

“Well, I obviously knew all of the things that were happening. When I landed in New York, everybody was like, ‘She’s here for Daredevil.’ Then it was announced that I was in Dexter, so it was a fun way to throw everybody off the track,” she said about keeping fans guessing about her next move.

“We really wanted to preserve the Jessica Jones announcement for an event like the Upfronts. Marvel wanted to find the right time to announce so it could be celebratory and not have it leak, so it’s not something on the internet that comes and goes. We pulled it off, and that was exciting,” Ritter added.

It was through her work on Jessica Jones that Ritter is connected to the “Dexter”-verse. Scott Reynolds, co-showrunner on the Marvel series, is executive producer of Dexter: Resurrection.

“I had been texting with Scott Reynolds months prior [to being cast in Dexter: Resurrection] about restaurants in Pasadena. I was like, ‘Oh, what are you working on?’ And he told me, and I was like, ‘Oh, do you have anything for me?’ And he was like, ‘Actually, I might,’ but you never know what’s going to come of those conversations. And then an offer came in, and the role was so good. I read it, and it was obvious Scott wrote this with me in mind,” Ritter detailed.

Adding, “There were some scheduling conflicts because I was launching my book [Retreat: A Novel] and going on tour. I was also gearing up for Daredevil and training to get my Jessica Jones muscles back. I had a lot going on, but what was on the page was so delicious, which doesn’t happen very often. Roles like this don’t come along every day.”

She was further impressed as new casting announcements rolled out, including Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, David Dastmalchian, Eric Stonestreet, and Neil Patrick Harris. All the aforementioned characters starred in a special Dexter: Resurrection episode that aired last Friday, “Call Me Red,” featuring a dinner party hosted by Dinklage’s character Leon Prater, for serial killers. It’s easily one of the best episodes of television of late.

“It was so good,” she said of the fourth episode. “Being there felt like it was a major career moment for everybody. It was so delicious and fun being all together. I’m happy with how it turned out, and that it’s getting this reaction. That doesn’t always happen; it was so cool to be a part of.”

If fans loved that episode, Ritter teased, “There’s more craziness to come this season.” There’s still a lot more to come from Ritter, as well. It’s really been a great year for her, she highlighted, while reflecting on the timing of playing Mia and Jessica so close together.

“Getting to play Jessica Jones again is awesome, and creatively, getting to play both of these roles back to back this year has been a dream come true. To have something new and glamorous and deranged and psychotic, like Mia, and then also play this really complex superhero that I love. It was like the best of both worlds. I got so lucky, and I feel very, very grateful.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.