'Jane the Virgin' Showrunner Gives Us More Details on Britney Spears's Guest Appearance

Dave Nemetz
Updated
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Look out, Rogelio: An even bigger star is coming to Jane the Virgin this fall.

Britney Spears will guest star in an episode of The CW’s hit comedy this season, and Yahoo TV went to Jane showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman to get more details on the big news.

Spears, a self-proclaimed Jane fan, will play herself on the show, and she apparently has a history with the show’s telenovela star Rogelio De La Vega; in fact, the press release refers to Spears as Rogelio’s “nemesis” (!).

“She’s playing an exaggerated version of Britney Spears,” Urman tells us. While she wouldn’t reveal the exact nature of Britney’s feud with Rogelio, “the backstory between her and Rogelio is remembered different ways by both of them.”

Related: ‘Jane the Virgin’ Showrunner Unpacks All Those Finale Twists, Drops Season 2 Hints

And this big casting news had been in the works for quite some time, Urman explains: ”Jonathan, who’s one of our casting directors, has been working on it for a while. And we wanted to make sure we pitched a great story, because you want to put your best foot forward. And also, you want to make sure it serves the show… So once we were happy in the writers’ room, we were able to bring her the material. And luckily, she responded.“

Urman found out Spears was a fan of the show by reading about it in People magazine… and the timing couldn’t have been more eerie. “I literally was editing Rogelio talking about how his night in Vegas was going to be like Britney Spears’s residency, but his was only for one night. I was literally editing that episode as I read in People magazine that Britney likes Jane… So we were like, ‘Maybe!’"

And of course, now every member of the Jane the Virgin cast wants to be written into a scene with Britney, Urman says: “All the actors are like, ‘Am I in it? Am I in it?’”

Spears is scheduled to appear in the fifth episode of Jane’s sophomore season — which should air during November sweeps. Hey, a little Britney bump in the ratings can’t hurt, right?

Season 2 of Jane the Virgin premieres Monday, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. on The CW.