Why The Girl in the Woods Is Really a Jessica Jones Reunion

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It's no mystery why The Girl in the Woods is a spooky binge this Halloween—and we have one famous raven-haired talent to thank.

Krysten Ritter directs and executive produces the highly-anticipated Peacock teen thriller, premiering on Thursday, Oct. 21. Starring Stefanie Scott, Misha Osherovich and Sofia Bryant, Girl follows a teen who escapes a cult that protects a small town from other-worldly creatures.

Fan favorite multi-hyphenate talent Ritter has appeared in mysteries like Veronica Mars, dramas including Breaking Bad and even played a detective in Jessica Jones. And, it's Ritter's experience on set of the Emmy-winning Marvel Comics-based Netflix series that has the most parallels both on-screen and off with The Girl in the Woods.

"I directed also on Jessica Jones so this felt like everything I had picked up along the way—or everything I like or am kind of good at, all in one project," Ritter exclusively told E! News.

Peacock's Girl in the Woods Character Portraits

In fact, The Girl in the Woods checked all of Ritter's criteria to piqué her interest: "It was a mysterious female lead who might be 'unlikable' on the page, and I felt like I knew how to get people on board with her," Ritter continued.

Krysten Ritter, Fashion Police Widget
Stewart Cook/Shutterstock

"It was also set in a small town, kind of like where I'm from and where my novel Bonfire was set. It's about sort of coming of age time in your life in a small town, and you want to get out but you don't know what that means. I love the supernatural heightened playing field, where you have monsters and those stakes being real. And I love cults. So it was kind of all the things I love and want in an opportunity," she explained.

As an executive producer, Ritter was instrumental in adapting the series for Peacock, which is based on Crypt TV's 2018 short film The Door in the Woods and the 2020 sequel of the same name.

"The awesome part about this job and when you're doing a pilot and making all these early decisions, is we got to hire amazing department heads like the cinematographer and hiring the crew, the stunt coordinator," Ritter explained. "And so being a part of that kind of just working with them was so amazing. They were so enthusiastic about the project and really passionate, and really supported me to bring my vision to life."

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Ritter collaborated with the previous Jessica Jones team to create the teen trio at the heart of Girl, with Scott at the helm as lead character, Carrie.

The Girl in the Woods, Peacock
Peacock

"I didn't have someone in mind for Carrie," the Nightbooks actor admitted. "We saw audition tapes, kind of the good ol' fashioned way. This is kind of an age group where you don't necessarily picture somebody."

Thankfully, Ritter "had amazing casting directors, who also coincidentally cast Jessica Jones so I knew them very well."

Ritter continued, "They brought an amazing crew of actors for us to see. When I saw Stefanie Scott and Misha and Sofia, I was like, ‘There they are!' I love them so much, and they were so great in the audition process. We had to do a lot of scenes all over Zoom and they took directions so well. I just fell in love with them."

Watch the full interview above!

The Girl in the Woods premieres Thursday, Oct. 21 on Peacock.

(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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