Serial Killer Comedy Series Starring Krysten Ritter Sparks Bidding War

Now that Marvel's Jessica Jones has come to an end, star Krysten Ritter is looking to get back to work with a new TV series – and her new character sounds like it'll be a far cry from a hard-drinking private detective. Ritter is teaming back up with Don't Trust the B- in Apartment 23 creator/showrunner Nahnatchka Khan for an untitled comedy in which Ritter will play...a serial killer.

Deadline reports that a bidding war has heated up between Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, FX, and HBO Max for the new series, which is currently untitled. It's being described as "a dark comedy about a female serial killer" which hails from Khan (who also created ABC's successful sitcom Fresh Off the Boat) and rising writer Angela LaManna, who has credits on Hannibal, the Syfy anthology horror series Channel Zero, and one of Jessica Jones's fellow cancelled Marvel shows, The Punisher.

Details on the new serial killer show are pretty slim at this point, but Deadline mentioned that it's based on the upcoming book Serial Killer Anonymous by author Charles Warady. That book doesn't appear to have an official release date yet, but the literary agency representing the author posted this lengthy synopsis:

There's a 12 Step Program for everything: alcohol, narcotics, cocaine, overeating, gambling, even video games. But this 12 Step Program, in a cabin hidden deep in the woods in Kentucky with between a dozen and twenty attendees is particularly unusual. A relapse from a member of Serial Killers Anonymous usually means someone other than the addict dies. The serial killer is an addict, chasing the thrill and satisfaction of the kill. When that leaves, he spends the rest of his kills trying to retrieve that feeling. Serial Killers Anonymous operates under the premise that a spiritual program is the only answer and it's been working for this group for over 30 years. But just one slip up by one of the members could lead the police and the FBI to their cabin, condemning all the members to death row.

Orson is one of the members of Serial Killers Anonymous. He hasn't tortured or killed a young woman in over a year and he owes it all to the program and his sponsor, Denver, who has over thirty years in the program. With only a year working the program, Orson falls in love with a woman he meets in Alcoholics Anonymous, which he also attends. Denver fears that a romantic relationship will be the thing that ruins everyone's anonymity, through pillow talk or trust. Things begin to go wrong. The cabin is spotted but not identified by "a stranger." Denver is sure it's because Orson didn't take his advice. Orson wonders if Denver's right. A stark and credibly unusual tale, SERIAL KILLERS ANONYMOUS by author, writer, and stand-up comedian Charley Warady, uses dark humor to convey that serial killers can be people, too. In the end, though...something's gotta give.

It sounds like the main characters in the book are men, but I could easily see the show taking the concept of an anonymous group of serial killers and dropping Ritter into it as the lead. She's had a quiet few years outside of Jessica Jones, and I'm looking forward to seeing her dig into something she can really sink her teeth into again.