Jane the Virgin is a charming, hilarious and at times outrageous tale about Jane, her family and all those around her. Jane’s life was turned upside down when she became accidentally inseminated during a routine doctor’s visit. With her engagement to Michael called off, the decision to keep her baby, and meeting her own father for the first time, Jane’s headed down a new path.
BuddyTV spoke with Executive Producer Jennie Urman on the Jane the Virgin set about when Jane would give birth, the season 2 renewal, the love triangle, what’s coming up and much more. Read on for edited excerpts of the conversation.
What’s the time frame been so far on the series?
There’s a bit of a time jump. We’re trying to track her nine months, so you’ll see a few episodes that jump forward a little bit so we can get as close as we can.
Will we see the baby being born this season?
Yes.
Have you thought about next season at all?
I think in a show like this you have to– you can’t say, “let’s do this,” without knowing how it will pay off because it’s a tricky tone with so many different storylines woven in. Our ending this year kind of takes us through– I know what will happen at the end of this year and I know what our twist will be at [episode] 13 next year. We’ve had that in the Writers’ Room for a while so we can be building towards it.
I was surprised that the love triangle sort of ended as quickly as it did. Do you plan on still playing that out more? It’s not over, is it?
No, not at all. I felt Jane was a very authentic person. So when she found herself having feeling for Raphael that were coming up, the combination of that and Michael lying and the fact that she had her whole planned and all of a sudden everything was blown up like she’s almost having her teenage rebellion.
She goes for it with Raphael and I felt that she had to as a character. I didn’t want to keep telling those stories where she’s having feelings for [Raphael] but with [Michael]. It didn’t feel very Jane-like to me. It feels like she’s someone who’s going to recognize that and it’s going to torture her. It wasn’t an easy decision, but there’s something between them.
That chemistry is something we’re playing with them. That sort of connection. I felt like I wanted to get through that and get them together and then play some of that. Of course then, it’s a soap, so it’s going to spin and twirl and re-complicate itself and I’m endlessly interested in the love triangle.
One thing that I was surprised to enjoy so much were the graphics of the heartbeats and other stuff like that. Do you ever worry it’s too much?
It’s something that we play around with in editing. I watch the show with a gut feeling and if it like takes me out, I take it out. If I’m still into it, I’ve always wanted this show to have a light fairy tale aspect to it and take some of the magical realism tradition that’s so rich in the Latin American world. I felt like those where two elements that I wanted to have. There have been a few times that I’ve pulled them out and you know everyone has different opinions.
Going into the last half of season 1, what are the main threads that will carry through the rest of the season?
The uncovering of who Sin Rostro is, which you’ll know in [episode] 12 and the ramifications of that on that side of it. Jane getting closer to having a baby and what does that feel like is a big part. There’s a huge– the telenovela takes its own turn– the internal telenovela. And, then Petra, we bring her down, but she lives to rise again. I like the episodes that have the most fun.
Do you worry about keeping Petra and the characters outside the core family and now extended family involved?
I think you do and that’s your challenge as a storyteller to find ways. We found her way in and you’ll know it at the end of [episode] 13. It makes her– you know, she can’t go anywhere. Michael has the case. We have to find new ways to introduce our characters.
I always like that kind of I haven’t seen them interact yet. We’re starting a bit of a bromance between Rogelio and Michael, which is a nice comic avenue. And, Jane and him had a deep friendship for a long time, so they’re still friends. When the dust settles, they’re friends. We try to find ways.
Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9pm ET on the CW.
(Image courtesy of the CW.)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Contributing Editor and Writer for Collider, BuddyTV, TV Fanatic, CliqueClack, and other publications. TV criticism, reviews, interviews with actors and producers, and other related content. Founder of TV Diehard.
