The Punisher (TV series)

Marvel's The Punisher is an American television series created by Steve Lightfoot for the streaming service Netflix, based on the Marvel Comics character Punisher. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the franchise's films and other television series. It is a spin-off from the first Marvel Netflix series, Daredevil (2015–2018). The Punisher was produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Bohemian Risk Productions, with Lightfoot serving as showrunner.
Jon Bernthal reprises his role from Daredevil as Frank Castle / Punisher, a vigilante who uses lethal methods to fight crime. Ben Barnes, Amber Rose Revah, Jason R. Moore, and Deborah Ann Woll also star. They are joined by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Daniel Webber, Paul Schulze, Michael Nathanson, and Jaime Ray Newman in the first season, with Josh Stewart, Floriana Lima, and Giorgia Whigham joining for the second season. A television series centered on the Punisher received a put pilot commitment at Fox in 2011, but that project fell through. In June 2015, Bernthal was cast as the character to appear in the second season of Daredevil. Development on a spin-off began by January 2016, and Netflix ordered the series that April when the involvement of Bernthal and Lightfoot was confirmed. The series explores the title character's grief and violence, and was filmed in New York City.
The first season was released in its entirety on Netflix on November 17, 2017, followed by the second on January 18, 2019. They were met with mixed reviews, but received several accolades including a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award nomination. Netflix cancelled The Punisher on February 18, 2019. All of the Marvel Netflix series were removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, after Disney regained the license for them. They began streaming on Disney+ from March 16. Bernthal and Woll reprise their roles in the Marvel Studios Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2025), and Bernthal will star in and co-write the untitled Punisher television special (2026), part of the Marvel Studios Special Presentations.
After exacting revenge on those responsible for the death of his family, the first season finds former Force Recon Marine Frank Castle, known throughout New York City as "the Punisher", uncovering a larger conspiracy beyond what was done to him and his family. The second season sees Castle, who has been living a quiet life on the road, drawn into the mystery surrounding the attempted murder of Amy Bendix, forcing him to decide if he should embrace his life as the Punisher.
NY1 anchors Pat Kiernan, Roma Torre, and Stacy-Ann Gooden cameo as themselves.
Shooter Jennings, Ted Russell Kamp, James Douglass, John F. Schreffler Jr. and Aubrey Richmond all appear as themselves.
In October 2011, ABC Studios sold a script based on the Punisher to Fox, who gave the project a put pilot commitment. The series would be an hour-long procedural following NYPD detective Frank Castle, "whose alter ego is that of a vigilante seeking justice for those failed by the court system." Ed Bernero was attached as executive producer, but by May 2012, the project had not moved forward. A year later, the character's film rights reverted to Marvel from Lionsgate. In June 2015, Jon Bernthal was announced as cast as Frank Castle in the second season of Daredevil on Netflix. The series was the first of several live action series provided to Netflix by Marvel Television and ABC Studios, with subsequent series featuring Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist all leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders.
By January 2016, ahead of the Daredevil season two release, Netflix was in "very early development" on a spin-off series titled The Punisher, and was looking for a showrunner. The series would be centered on Bernthal as Castle, and was described as a stand-alone series, outside of the series leading up to The Defenders. Head of Marvel Television and executive producer Jeph Loeb implied that Marvel Television had not instigated the development of the spin-off and were focusing on making "the best 13 episodes of Daredevil season two" at the time, but did say, "I'm never going to discourage a network from looking at one of our characters and encouraging us to do more ... If we are lucky enough that through the writing, through the direction, through the actor that people want to see more of that person, terrific." Loeb stated a month later that the reports about the potential spin-off were "something that people are speculating on, as opposed to something that's actually happening."
In April 2016, Netflix officially ordered a full 13-episode season of The Punisher, confirmed Bernthal's involvement, and named Steve Lightfoot as executive producer and showrunner. Loeb, Cindy Holland, and Jim Chory also serve as executive producers. A second 13-episode season was ordered in December 2017.
Lightfoot noted that "anti-heroes with dark pasts, that are morally grey, are always interesting to write." On deciding to work on The Punisher, Lightfoot stated, "I was drawn to a guy who is dealing with grief – how does he do that?... We talked a lot as we developed the show that once you take hold of the hand of violence it's impossible to let it go. That relationship to violence really interested me, not just the fact he has the ability to use it but also the cost of it." Lightfoot was inspired by the Bourne film series and the film American Sniper when approaching the series.
Bernthal had been cast as Castle in June 2015 to appear in the second season of Daredevil, and was confirmed to be reprising the role for the spin-off in April 2016. That September, Ben Barnes was cast in the series in an unspecified series regular role. The next month, set photos revealed that Deborah Ann Woll would reprise her Daredevil role as Karen Page, while Barnes was announced as playing Billy Russo, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Amber Rose Revah also joined the series, as David Lieberman / Micro and Dinah Madani, respectively. At New York Comic Con, Bernthal confirmed Woll as a co-star. At the end of October, Marvel announced the additional casting of Daniel Webber as Lewis Wilson, Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle, Paul Schulze as William Rawlins, Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman, and Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein.
For the second season, Bernthal, Barnes, Revah, Moore, and Woll all reprise their roles. They are joined by Josh Stewart as John Pilgrim, Floriana Lima as Krista Dumont, and Giorgia Whigham as Amy Bendix, who were cast in February 2018. In May 2018, Corbin Bernsen and Annette O'Toole were announced as joining the cast as Anderson and Eliza Schultz, respectively.
Filming for the series takes place in New York City, including Brooklyn, and Astoria, Queens.
In April 2017, Tyler Bates was announced as the composer for The Punisher, after previously composing for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The Punisher was released on the streaming service Netflix, worldwide. The episodes for each season were released simultaneously, as opposed to a serialized format, to encourage binge-watching, a format which has been successful for other Netflix series. Despite being branded as a "Netflix Original", The Punisher was licensed to Netflix from Disney.
The Punisher was removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, along with the other Marvel Netflix series, due to Netflix's license for the series ending and Disney regaining the rights. Disney opted not to have Netflix pay a large licensing fee to retain the distribution rights for the series, and instead announced that all the series would be made available on Disney+ on March 16 in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and in Disney+'s other markets by the end of 2022. In the United States, revised parental controls were introduced to the service to allow the more mature content of the series to be added, similarly to the controls that already exist for other regions that have the Star content hub.
According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, The Punisher experienced a significant rise in demand for a Netflix series, surging from No. 8 to No. 1 with a nearly 56% increase in average daily Demand Expressions, driven by the full-week availability of its second season. The show maintained the No. 1 position one week later, despite a 15.8% drop in average daily Demand Expressions. Marketing analytics firm Jumpshot, which tracks five billion actions a day across 100 million devices to deliver insights into online consumer behavior, reported that The Punisher generated 24,569,232 views in Q1 2019, although it saw a 40% drop in viewership during its first weekend compared to season one. In January 2024, The Punisher saw a notable increase in viewership on Disney+ after the release of Echo on the platform.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 68% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10 based on 80 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "A rocky start can't keep The Punisher from pushing the boundaries of Marvel's TV universe with a fresh take on the comics-derived action thriller." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds a 62% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10 based on 37 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Punisher's second season leaves fans torn between the undeniably action-packed fun and the underwhelming portrayal of the charismatic Frank Castle." On Metacritic, it was assigned a score of 58 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The series was canceled on February 18, 2019. Prior to The Punisher's cancellation, Kevin A. Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, noted that, while it had not yet been discussed, it was a possibility that Disney+ could revive the other cancelled Marvel Netflix series. Hulu's senior vice president of originals Craig Erwich also said that the streaming service was open to reviving the former Netflix series.
Ahead of Charlie Cox's appearance as Daredevil in Echo, which released in January 2024, Marvel Studios' head of streaming Brad Winderbaum acknowledged that Marvel Studios had previously been "a little bit cagey" about what was part of their Sacred Timeline, noting how there had been the corporate divide between what Marvel Studios created and what Marvel Television created. He continued that as time has passed, Marvel Studios has begun to see "how well integrated the [Marvel Television] stories are" and personally felt "confident" in saying Daredevil specifically was part of the Sacred Timeline. With Echo's release, all of the Netflix series were retroactively added to the MCU Disney+ timeline, with The Punisher placed alongside the Phase Three content of the MCU, after Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). An update to the Disney+ timeline split out the series by season, with The Punisher's second season placed between Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).
Bernthal reprises his role as Frank Castle / Punisher in the Marvel Studios Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again (2025). In February 2025, it was announced that Bernthal would star in an untitled Punisher television special, part of the Marvel Studios Special Presentations, with Reinaldo Marcus Green directing and co-writing with Bernthal. The special was conceived during filming for the first season of Born Again. The special will be released on Disney+ in 2026.