Ever since the series was announced, Marvel Comics fans have been eagerly awaiting the upcoming live action ‘Jessica Jones’ television series. Made as part of Marvel’s TV deal with Netflix, this series is planned for a full season release on November 20th, 2015. This past week at New York Comic Con 2015, we were lucky enough to get to check out the entire first episode of the series! Marvel has asked us to keep a lid on the details of the episode, and to please not post any spoilers  so that people can enjoy it for themselves spoiler free when the series premieres this November. In keeping with their wishes, we’re going to give you our spoiler free thoughts on the very first episode of ‘Jessica Jones’.

Stylistically, ‘Jessica Jones’ is a lot of fun. It has a very modernized noir feel to it, making it stand apart very distinctly from Netflix and Marvel’s previous series ‘Daredevil’. The show has a very real world feel to it, making it feel more grounded than most of the Marvel Television series to date like ‘DD’ or even ‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L D.’. Rather than an action series, fans are treated to a more dramatic series with a few comedic moments that make the show really stand on its own tonally.

It’s worth noting that this is very much a series for adults and should probably not be viewed by younger children. When the show goes dark, it gets REALLY dark, and somehow manages to make even a darker series like ‘Daredevil’ look like a sunny walk in the park. While it is definitely in line with its comic roots, the series was far darker than at least this reporter expected; although that was actually a really pleasant surprise!

The casting here is phenomenal, which is in line as per usual with most Marvel film projects. Krysten Ritter was perfectly cast as the series lead, and the role fits her like a glove. She oozes both charm and dry sarcasm simultaneously while also bringing a lot of depth to the screen. There’s a certain “I don’t care what people think, I am just going to do what I have to do” vibe to her while she’s on screen, and it brings a lot out of the Jessica Jones character. One moment in particular where she is trying to serve someone a legal summons and ends up using her ‘powers’ to make a point stands out as a particularly memorable moment that really shows you that this girl gets things done.  David Tennant is downright creepy as the series lead villain Killgrave. In the pilot he only has about a minute of screentime, and every second of it leaves your skin crawling. The rest of the supporting cast is a lot of fun, but most have very little screentime in the pilot. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of Mike Colter as Luke Cage in this series prior to his own full show. He definitely has the presence needed for such a big role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it looks like he is going to have a lot of fun with it!

Overall, the pilot was a perfect example of Marvel doing Marvel right. The cast is spot on for their comic book counterparts, the tone of the show was both darker and lighter than anything else that’s come before it, and from the opening scene it sucks you in so that you feel like you can’t look away. By the time the credits are rolling, you will be begging for another episode. This show is going to be very popular with binge-watchers once it hits Netflix all at once next month.

The complete first season of Marvel’s ‘Jessica Jones’ is set to hit Netflix streaming service on November 20th, 2015. The next Marvel/Netflix series, ‘Luke Cage’ is filming now!