A new Jigsaw John TV series is now in development, bringing renewed attention to one of Los Angeles’ most famous detectives and the unlikely writer who chronicled his world. The project adapts Jane Howatt’s memoir Jigsaw & Jane: Thirteen Years of Murder and Mayhem with Badge Number One, promising a fresh angle on true-crime storytelling that centers not only on murder investigations, but also on the woman who stepped into the orbit of LAPD legend John St. John.
For viewers drawn to crime dramas based on real lives, this adaptation stands out for its perspective. Rather than retelling famous cases in a familiar procedural format, the series is expected to explore how Howatt, a suburban mother and aspiring writer with no police background, came to document years of high-stakes homicide work alongside one of the department’s most decorated detectives.
What We Know About the Jigsaw John TV Series
The Jigsaw John TV series is being developed by UK-based indie Golden Possum Productions, which has optioned Howatt’s book. The project arrives roughly 50 years after NBC aired Jigsaw John, a crime procedural inspired by St. John’s career and starring Jack Warden.
This new adaptation appears to be taking a more character-driven route. Instead of simply revisiting cases, it frames the story through Howatt’s experience over 13 years spent observing, recording, and trying to understand the emotional and moral weight of homicide work in Los Angeles.
At this stage, the show remains in development, and additional creative attachments have yet to be announced. Still, the setup alone gives the Jigsaw John TV series a distinctive identity in a crowded true-crime market.
Who Was Jigsaw John?
John St. John, widely known as Jigsaw John, built a reputation as one of the LAPD’s most respected detectives. Over a long career, he worked on major investigations that became part of Los Angeles crime history, including the Freeway Killer investigation and the Black Dahlia case.
His career with the LAPD stretched across five decades, and he ultimately held the department’s prestigious Detective Badge No. 1. That status made him a natural subject for television decades ago, and it also explains why interest in his life has endured.
Why his story still matters
There are several reasons the Jigsaw John TV series could resonate with modern audiences:
- Historical depth: It reaches into landmark eras of Los Angeles policing and criminal investigation.
- Built-in recognition: The original NBC series gives the property legacy appeal.
- True-crime relevance: Audiences continue to seek grounded stories based on real investigations.
- A new lens: Jane Howatt’s role adds a human, outsider perspective often missing from detective dramas.
Jane Howatt’s Unlikely Journey Into the LAPD’s Darkest Cases
What makes the Jigsaw John TV series especially compelling is Jane Howatt’s entry point into the story. In 1982, she was a 35-year-old suburban mother and aspiring writer when she read about St. John receiving the LAPD’s Distinguished Service Medal. With no formal background in either journalism or law enforcement, she decided to call him and ask if she could write a book about his life and career.
That bold decision became a 13-year journey. According to the source material, Howatt followed St. John into some of the grimmest corners of Los Angeles, documenting not just investigations, but the psychological toll, discipline, and daily realities that came with them.
That premise gives the adaptation emotional range. It is not only about solving crimes; it is also about witness, trust, ambition, and what happens when an ordinary person chooses to stand close to extraordinary darkness in order to tell the truth about it.
Why This Adaptation Could Stand Out in True Crime TV
True crime remains one of the most durable genres in television, but audiences have become more selective. Many viewers now want stories that avoid glamorizing killers and instead focus on investigators, victims, and the people left to make sense of violent events. That appears to be the lane this Jigsaw John TV series wants to occupy.
Golden Possum producer Naomi Harvey has emphasized that her interest is not in fetishizing criminals, but in spotlighting those who spend years in their shadow. That approach could help the series distinguish itself from more sensationalized crime adaptations.
Elements that may define the series
- Female point of view: Howatt’s perspective could reshape a traditionally male detective narrative.
- Period atmosphere: The Los Angeles setting offers rich visual and cultural texture.
- Real-case gravity: St. John’s career touched some of the city’s most notorious investigations.
- Media-within-the-story angle: The relationship between writer and detective adds another layer beyond standard procedural beats.
How It Connects to the Original NBC Series
The title will inevitably remind older TV fans of the 1970s NBC drama Jigsaw John, which brought a fictionalized version of St. John’s work to screen. But this new project seems less interested in reviving a straightforward procedural and more focused on reinterpreting the legacy through memoir and lived experience.
That distinction matters. A reboot simply mining nostalgia might struggle to break through. A series that uses the Jigsaw John TV series name while expanding the emotional and historical context could appeal to both longtime crime-drama viewers and newer audiences hungry for prestige-style nonfiction adaptations.
What Happens Next?
As of now, the Jigsaw John TV series is still in development, so casting, network or platform details, and writer announcements are still to come. But the project already has several ingredients working in its favor: recognizable source material, a legendary detective at its center, and an unusual narrative frame that gives the adaptation a fresh identity.
If executed well, it could become more than another detective drama. It has the potential to examine how stories about crime get told, who gets to tell them, and what it costs to spend years documenting violence from just outside the badge line.
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Conclusion
The developing Jigsaw John TV series has the makings of a standout entry in the true-crime television space. By pairing the legacy of famed LAPD detective John St. John with Jane Howatt’s intimate memoir, the show could offer something rare: a crime story that is as interested in observation, memory, and moral complexity as it is in investigation. If the production delivers on that promise, the Jigsaw John TV series may become one of the more intriguing TV adaptations to watch in the years ahead.
