Could season five of Jane the Virgin be the last? Series star and co-executive producer Gina Rodriguez said as much during the Women To Watch day of panels from Create & Cultivate and Fossil in Austin, Texas on Sunday.
While discussing directing, which she did for a pivotal season four episode, Rodriguez said, “When it came to directing Jane, as the star of the show — as a woman, as Latina, I was like, ‘I need to come so correct that I cannot be denied.’”
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After calling it “the most incredible experience,” Rodriguez noted that her episode happened to be “the highest-rated of the season” and concluded by noting that she has plans to “do more [directing] next year — in our final season.”
Despite Rodriguez’s comment, the CW has not yet made any official announcements or pick-ups for returning shows next season.
If the show were to end after season five, it may not come as a complete shock, as Rodriguez fans will remember that she is developing not one, but two shows — a female-driven drama called Femme and a dramedy about an undocumented immigrant called Illegal.
In January, CW president Mark Pedowitz told Variety that he wanted to “stay in the Gina Rodriguez business.”
“Gina is a friend,” he said. “She is a special, special person. Really, she is the real frickin’ deal. That’s how much I feel about her and respect her.”
Rodriguez won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Jane Villanueva in the comedic homage to telenovelas in 2015. It was the first-ever Globe for the network.
The latest episode of Jane the Virgin grabbed approximately 600,000 live+same day viewers and earned a 0.2 in the 18-49 demo.
Season four has seen stars like Eva Longoria and Brooke Shields grace the screen, with Shields signing on for a multi-episode arc as a renowned actress and supermodel named River Fields. The hilariously-named character gets into a feud with Rogelio de la Vega, who finds himself a new nemesis who won’t go down without a fight.
The actress and the character share a similar name, but network officials told Variety that while they are “equally smart, witty and gorgeous,” Shields will not be playing a version of herself. The network emphasized the character is “vastly different” from Shields.
Shields began her own modeling career at an early age and gained fame at 14 when she became the youngest model to appear on the cover of Vogue. Her early acting roles included the films Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon. Most recently, she has had recurring roles on The Middle and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.