How to watch the Marvel Netflix shows in order on Disney Plus

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By Henry T. Casey
last updated

Disney Plus could have been more helpful with the Netflix Marvel shows

Mike Colter, Krysten Ritter, Charlie Cox, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Henwick in The Defenders
(Image credit: Sarah Shatz/Netflix)

Trying to watch the Marvel Netflix shows in a specific order is an interesting problem that Disney Plus doesn't exactly do much to solve. That's where we come in. And you may have more reason to get to know these shows, as some of these characters and the actors who played them on Netflix are coming back into the MCU.

Yes, we've had a long winding road to get here, but the Marvel Netflix shows finally hit Disney Plus (back in March 2022). Now dubbed "The Defenders Saga," these 13 seasons of TV are here ... with not a whole lot of urgency to watch right now. Especially as the Marvel Netflix slate isn't currently available in 4K on Disney Plus.  

But when you get around to watching the Defenders, you might find yourself where we did (after we changed our Disney Plus settings to show the Marvel Netflix shows). Disney Plus doesn't actually tell you much about how to watch these shows as they were released. 

Instead, Disney Plus arranges all the shows in the order of how their first seasons were released, in one row. But since the characters interweave, that's not enough. So, we did the work to dig up all the release dates for each season, so you can watch them in order. For more helpful chronological timeline sorting, check out our guide for how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

Marvel Netflix shows in order of release and chronology

As you'll see below, Marvel's Netflix shows almost all had their first seasons before their second seasons could air, with the exception of Daredevil season 2. The run is fairly straightforward, but especially long waits may frustrate those who want to jump to Daredevil season 3 or Jessica Jones season 3.

To contextualize these shows, you can start with Marvel's The Avengers, as "the New York incident" is references in these shows.

  1. Daredevil season 1 (April 10, 2015)
  2. Jessica Jones season 1 (November 20, 2015)
  3. Daredevil season 2 (March 18, 2016)
  4. Luke Cage season 1 (September 30, 2016)
  5. Iron Fist season 1 (March 17, 2017)
  6. The Defenders (August 18, 2017)
  7. The Punisher season 1 (November 17, 2017)
  8. Jessica Jones season 2 (March 8, 2018)
  9. Luke Cage season 2 (June 22, 2018)
  10. Iron Fist season 2 (September 7, 2018)
  11. Daredevil season 3 (October 19, 2018)
  12. The Punisher season 2 (January 18, 2019)
  13. Jessica Jones season 3 (June 14, 2019)

As a bonus, there are three other related MCU titles to check out. We won't spoil why, but those who want to follow the Defenders into the MCU should watch Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hawkeye and She-Hulk.

Should you watch all of the Netflix Marvel shows?

So, 13 seasons sounds like a lot of time, right? Well, what if I could whittle it down to 11? Well, we at Tom's Guide have a firm stance on the Marvel Netflix shows. We think you can simply skip over Iron Fist. Not only was it hit hard with a controversy over whitewashing the source material, it's mostly just not as good as the other shows (or any good at all). 

One colleague once told me season 2 is when it gets good, though. I wonder if I'll ever check to find out.

Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.