Jessica Jones: Season 1

Airing on Netflix, the Marvel Comics series Jessica Jones is one of the best superhero dramas made for either TV or streaming networks. Krysten Ritter stars as Jessica Jones, a woman with super strength and shaky flying powers who has no interest in being a costumed hero, so she hangs out her shingle as a private detective. Jessica is cynical, smart-mouthed, prickly, and a survivor of a sociopath named Kilgrave (David Tennant), who uses his powers of mind control to turn his victims into slaves. She avoids confronting her trauma with alcohol, sex, and a recklessness that lands her in a lot of fights. When Kilgrave returns to New York, she decides that to break free of his grip she has to stop him for good. Rachael Taylor costars as best friend Trish Walker and Mike Colter makes his debut as Luke Cage (with his own related spin-off series). The show was developed for Netflix by Twilight screenwriter and veteran TV producer Melissa Rosenberg (making it one of the few superhero projects helmed by a woman) and she gives the series an urban film noir style and a dark sensibility that melds tough-talking, hard-drinking private eye drama with superhero adventure, all the while grounding the super-powered characters in human stories. Ritter has the strength and sass to pull it off while letting us see the damaged soul beneath and the righteous anger that drives her to help other victims of Kilgrave. Compiling all 13 episodes from the 2015 debut season, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)