Orphan Black, the beloved sci-fi thriller series with a penchant for clones is ready for its grand return, but some things won't be quite the same as audiences remember. Its new star should help with that, and in the best possible way.
Krysten Ritter, star of Jessica Jones and veteran of other modern classics like Breaking Bad, has just joined up with the upcoming Orphan Black: Echoes series. Not only will she appear in the AMC show, but she'll also serve as executive producer. This will mark her first foray into AMC since her time on Breaking Bad as Jane Margolis.
Orphan Black: Echoes was announced earlier this year as a new spinoff to the original Orphan Black series, which first aired from 2013-2017. Taking place in the not-too-distant future, it will embrace its predecessor's focus on identity and the human existence as several women explore their connections to each other and discover mysteries regarding themselves and their relationships. Ritter's character, Lucy, is one of the many trying to figure themselves out.
At the time Orphan Black: Echoes was originally announced, many were concerned about the apparent lack of original series star Tatiana Maslany. She has since gone on to the lead role of Marvel's upcoming Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which made her absence from the spinoff all the more apparent. But this news about Ritter is sure to inspire a few sighs of relief, as her talent on shows like Jessica Jones quickly endeared her to audiences all around.
Ritter's career has kept a steady high over the past few years, with an appearance in the Netflix film Nightbooks and a brief return as Jane in the 2019 Breaking Bad follow-up movie El Camino. Aside from acting, she has also dabbled behind the camera a bit, directing Peacock's The Girl in the Woods in 2021 after doing the same for an episode of Jessica Jones in 2019. More recently, she's also set to star in HBO Max's upcoming crime drama miniseries Love and Death.
While precious little is currently known about Orphan Black: Echoes, the brief synopsis along with Ritter's involvement will no doubt be enough to draw the attention of newcomers and "Clone Club" fans alike. Here's hoping it ends up being just as influential as the much-praised show that came before.
Orphan Black: Echoes is set to premiere on AMC in 2023.