How to watch The Defenders Saga in order on Disney Plus

Charlie Cox in Daredevil
(Image credit: Disney Plus)

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 has sadly come to an end with a violent and explosive final episode, which you can read more about in our Daredevil: Born Again season 1 ending explained. However, with Daredevil: Born Again season 2 now well on the way, this is a great time to get caught up on the rest of The Defenders Saga, and give some of the best Marvel shows a rewatch before The Man Without Fear returns to Hell's Kitchen once again.

From the original Daredevil series to Iron Fist, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, and eventually The Defenders TV show, the shows were originally released on Netflix before they were purchased by Disney and added to Disney Plus. However, outside of the core shows, characters from The Defenders comics have also made appearances in other projects, too, such as Disney's Echo.

Now, you can watch the upcoming season of Daredevil: Born Again without knowing the full Defenders history, as so far the Disney series has focused on a new story involving Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, but its always nice to be in the know regarding certain overlapping characters and other in-universe nods that crop up from time to time. And who knows, maybe some members of The Defenders team will make an appearance in season 2?

However, with five shows in the collection totalling to over 13 seasons, not to mention the other Marvel movies and series the group makes appearances in, there is a lot of ground to cover. So, to make your re-watch a little easier, we've put together a full guide on how to watch The Defenders saga in order. As well as the core series, we've included all the MCU appearances (so far) of Daredevil so you know exactly where everyone stands.

Note: Technically, the Defenders Saga takes place after the first Avengers movie, but the actual connections are relatively tenuous and get looser as the series go on. To understand the wider MCU more, check out our guide to the Marvel timeline.

How to watch The Defenders Saga in order

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Finn Jones as Danny Rand, Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage in The Defenders

(Image credit: Netflix)

Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and The Defenders were formerly known as "Marvel's Netflix shows" but that description is hardly fitting now they're on Disney Plus. The watch order starts with Daredevil, the very first show released back in 2015, and culminates in Jessica Jones season 3, which ended Marvel and Netflix's partnership in 2019.

This order (by release date) is also the chronological order to watch the series in and watching in any other order will make The Defenders extremely confusing, as that has significant impact on the other shows – particularly Daredevil.

  • Daredevil season 1
  • Jessica Jones season 1
  • Daredevil season 2
  • Luke Cage season 1
  • Iron Fist season 1
  • The Defenders
  • The Punisher season 1
  • Jessica Jones season 2
  • Luke Cage season 2
  • Iron Fist season 2
  • Daredevil season 3
  • The Punisher season 2
  • Jessica Jones season 3
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (non-Defenders Saga movie)
  • Hawkeye (non-Defenders Saga show)
  • She-Hulk episode 8 (non-Defenders Saga show)
  • Echo (non-Defenders Saga show)
  • Daredevil: Born Again (non-Defenders Saga show)

Those last few may seem a little bit out of place (excluding Born Again), but – mild spoilers – they each feature appearances from characters from The Defenders Saga. So, if you're going to do a major watch of all the shows, then be sure to check out Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Hawkeye series, that solitary episode of She-Hulk, and Echo.


Want to watch the Marvel movies after making your way through the Defenders Saga? Here's our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

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Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.

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