‘Jane the Virgin’ Series Finale: EP Jennie Snyder Urman On Spoiled Ending, Narrator Reveal & Potential Spinoffs
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SPOILER ALERTt: The story includes details about the series finale of Jane the Virgin on the CW.
After five seasons and 100 episodes, the CW’s Jane the Virgin ended its journey tonight. It has been an important show for the CW and for television — Jane gave the CW its first major award recognition when star Gina Rodriguez won a Golden Globe; it has been a rare series to feature a main character speaking exclusively a foreign language with the Spanish-speaking Alba; and it defied convention by experimenting with styles, including magical realism.
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True to its telenovela roots (Jane the Virgin was loosely based on the Venezuelan telenovela Juana La Virgen), the dramedy wrapped its story with a happy ending as Jane and Raphael finally tied the knot, Petra and JR reconciled, Esteban proposed to Darci and Rogelio’s dream of becoming a crossover star came true.
There were reveals — Rafael’s parents are dead (and were regular people), the narrator is grown-up Matteo, and the series is an adaptation of Jane’s novel.
Also part of the closer were some Jane the Virgin finale staples: a Villanueva woman wedding, a new pregnancy/birth (this time it’s Jane’s best friend Lina), and Jane running late for a wedding and ultimately taking a bus to get there. (“We see the bus as both literal and symbolic; it marks Jane’s passage into different stages of her life,” Jane creator/executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman told Deadline two years ago about the bus’ presence in every season finale.)
In an interview with Deadline, Snyder Urman discusses the finale, reveals whether the plan was always for Jane and Rafael to end up together or she also considered other ideas. She also addresses the paparazzi photos from the filming of the Jane-Rafael wedding that posted in April, spoiling the finale for fans while the Jane (Rodriguez)-Michael (Brett Dier)-Rafael (Justin Baldoni) love triangle was still in full force onscreen.
Additionally, Snuder Urman talks about the decision to reveal Mateo as the narrator and explains his accent. She remains coy when asked about the future of the main characters with the exception of Rogelio but does address the possibility for more spinoffs. (The CW this past season ordered a pilot for Jane the Novela, an anthology series based on novels “written by” Jane Villanueva. It did not go to series.)
DEADLINE: Juana La Virgen ends with Juana marrying the character Rafael was modeled after. Was your plan always for Jane to end up with Rafael, and was the series finale always going to feature the wedding, honoring the show’s telenovela roots?
SNYDER URMAN: Yes, in keeping with the roots of the show, and the source material, Jane and Rafael were always going to end the series together. That doesn’t mean that she and Michael weren’t in love! They were. And their wedding and romance were beautiful. But he died (or so she thought) and she moved on, and when he returned, they were both changed. And the biggest change for Jane was realizing that she wanted to be with Rafael.
DEADLINE: Did you consider any alternate endings?
SNYDER URMAN: Nope. The ending of the show was the ending that I pitched in the room to the CW six years ago.
DEADLINE: What was your reaction when TMZ spoiled the finale with pics from the filming of the wedding while on-screen Jane was still torn between Rafael and Michael?
SNYDER URMAN: I was pretty bummed! Then again, everyone has to make a living. And Justin Baldoni solved it for me by posting a picture of Rafael sitting in the audience at the wedding, so I thought that was a great fake-out.
DEADLINE: When did you know that the narrator would be revealed to be Mateo, and was his accent a decoy or the idea of his true identity came after the voice had already been introduced?
SNYDER URMAN: I decided it was Mateo in the middle of the first season. So yes, after the voice was introduced. That said, I don’t think the accent is a decoy; it’s part of the reveal. I wanted all the pieces to fit together and I wanted the reveal to add another layer to our meta-telenovela. The Narrator is Mateo putting on an accent because he is a celebrated voice-over artist. Much like the brilliant Anthony Mendez.
DEADLINE: In a recent episode, after Jane brings up having more children and Rafael opposes the idea, the narrator noted that one of them changes their mind in the future. Who is that and how many kids do they have overall?
SNYDER URMAN: I can’t tell you that!
DEADLINE: What happens next to Jane, Rafael, Michael and Petra? Does Jane’s writing career take off? Does Rafael become involved in the Marbella again or stays in real estate? Do Jane and Michael cross paths again? Does Petra and JR’s reunion last?
SNYDER URMAN: I don’t want to speak to any future developments; I want to leave the ending, as the ending… and everything beyond can exist in imagination.
DEADLINE: Can you at lest confirm that Rogelio becomes a big crossover star after the success of Life On Mars? And how does Jane adjust to her parents moving to New York?
SNYDER URMAN: He does become a big crossover success, which the Narrator tells us. Beyond that…imagine!
DEADLINE: The finale seems to be setting up the proposed spinoff based on novels by Jane, which didn’t go to series at the CW. Are you still exploring a spinoff with the same or different idea?
SNYDER URMAN: The idea of the spin off (beautifully written by Valentina Garza) was an anthology series, where each season represented one of Jane’s novels. That was the avenue I wanted to pursue and after it didn’t move forward, I’ve decided to let the idea of a spin-off go.
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