The hero of Hell's Kitchen is back, and since Daredevil: Born Again episode 3 is now available, it's a good time to take a look back at The Defenders Saga. Covering Daredevil, Iron Fist, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, and eventually the namesake team, all of these shows were originally released on Netflix, before they were purchased by Disney and added to Disney Plus.
Though you can watch Born Again without knowing the full history, as it tells a fresh story involving Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, it'd definitely help to stay informed so you can keep following all the links. There are overlapping characters, small Easter eggs, and other in-universe nods back to the Defenders Saga.
To make your re-watch more efficient, or provide a helping hand if you've never encountered these characters before, we've put together a full guide to The Defenders saga in order. Besides taking you through the multiple-show journey, we've included all the MCU appearances (so far) of Daredevil and Kingpin 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
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, airing weekly on Disney Plus)
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.
