Here's Everything Fans Should Know About The 'Jane The Virgin' Spinoff Series
Following the success of Jane the Virgin, Jane Villanueva's hit romance story eventually hit shelves IRL, but if you didn't manage to snatch up Snow Falling, you can catch the next best thing on your TV screen soon. The CW has officially ordered a pilot for a spinoff series of Jane the Virgin about Jane's stories, so rest easy if you're worried about where you'll find your fill of telenovela drama after the long-running comedy wraps this year. What is Jane the Novela? Each season of the anthology series will focus on novels "written" by Jane.
Announcing the new project alongside plans for a Riverdale spinoff, the CW will stick to what Jane the Virgin fans know best for Jane the Novela. Following in the first show's tradition of emulating a traditional telenoleva series, the show will bring one of Jane's novels to life each season. As the "author," Jane, played by Gina Rodriguez, will narrate each episode. Although other details are sparse, Jane the Novela's first season will take place at a Napa Valley vineyard amidst family secrets spilling out into the open. Entertainment Weekly's description of the show also teases a family member presumed dead to appear alive. Did Jane write this book in light of her lost love Michael (Brett Dier) surprisingly surviving complications from his gunshot wound? To be fair, I definitely wouldn't believe an author who claimed that her dead husband turned out to be alive, so kudos to Jane for profiting from this trauma.
Rodriguez, who will executive produce the series alongside Jane the Virgin writer Valentina Garza and showrunner Jenni Snyder Urman, announced the spinoff on Instagram on Jan. 23. Between Rodriguez's birthing pun and her apparent baby bump in the photo, her followers grew to wonder if Jane was pregnant in the upcoming fifth and final season or even the spinoff. Now with the spinoff's premise public, it looks like Jane only plays an off-camera role on it, but Rodriguez's appearance is definitely important enough to keep in mind for Season 5.
After Michael was revealed to be living in last year's Season 4 finale, Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman spoke to TV Guide about the bombshell checking off a popular telenovela trope the show has yet to cover. She told the publication:
There's two specific telenovela tropes that we really haven't done. One of them is this "return from the dead" and the other one we will be playing next season, and I think that we have a fairly dramatic and satisfying and telenovela-worthy arc planned out. So I hope that they'll join us for the ride. We like big, shocking surprises with grounded emotional fallout, so that's what can be expected.
Although it took Jane the Virgin four years to tackle the most extreme of soap opera storylines, Jane the Novela will seemingly address it right away with its promise that family members aren't "buried" for long. A pilot order doesn't guarantee that the series will actually premiere and air a full season, but with Jane the Virgin leaving the air soon, maybe Jane the Novela will smoothly fill the gap it leaves in the network schedule.
As for where the original series will leave Jane, her love triangle with Michale and almost-fiancé Rafael (Justin Baldoni) will likely pick up in full force in Season 5. The show's creative team has stayed mum about what viewers can specifically expect, but they teased in November 2018 that the final season contains some of their "best work." Fingers crossed that Jane the Virgin fans have Jane the Novela to turn to after riding that final season high!
Season 5 of Jane the Virgin premieres on Wednesday, March 27, at 9 p.m. ET on the CW.
