SummaryThe Daredevil spin-off follows Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) as he tracks down a hacker named Micro (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to locate those who killed his family while Homeland Security agents Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah) tries to locate Frank.
Created By:Steve Lightfoot
Marvel's The Punisher
Season 1 Premiere:
Nov 17, 2017
Metascore
Mixed or Average
55
User score
Generally Favorable
8.0
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All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
55
31% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
62% Mixed
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
8% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Jan 18, 2019
83
What makes this season of “The Punisher” work so well is that it feels less like a Season 2 and more like a Season 5, a standalone story in the established adventures of Frank Castle.
Nov 13, 2017
75
It’s meditative but not self-flagellating; brutal but not a slog. It remains to be seen how it will stack up to the Defenders and their individual outings, but at the very least The Punisher could nab the title of first stand-alone property in all of the MCU, TV or film.
User score
Generally Favorable
8.0
83% Positive
1049 Ratings
1049 Ratings
7% Mixed
91 Ratings
91 Ratings
10% Negative
123 Ratings
123 Ratings
May 20, 2025
10
There’s something about The Punisher that hits a nerve most Marvel shows don’t even get close to. No powers, no suits, no cosmic games. Just rage. Pain. And a thirst for justice — or revenge, depending on your perspective — that taps into that dark part of you that sometimes wishes you could do what Frank Castle does, without thinking about the consequences. Because yes, sometimes the punishment should be just as brutal as the **** Bernthal doesn’t play Frank Castle — he becomes him. His silences are heavy, his stare says more than pages of dialogue, and his anger is disturbingly real. From the very first episode, you know this isn’t a hero. It’s a broken man choosing to break everything else around him. Is it admirable? Not always. Is it understandable? Absolutely. And that’s where the series hooks you.Unlike other Marvel Netflix entries, this one doesn’t need Daredevil or Jessica Jones to hold it up. The Punisher stands on its own — slower, yes, but more deliberate. Some episodes could be tighter. And the second season does get tangled at times. But there’s emotional depth here: guilt, trauma, personal justice. And above all, consequences.What’s impressive is that amidst all the blood and bullets, there’s still room to talk about what happens after the war — the abandonment of veterans, invisible pain, violence that breeds more violence. Sometimes the message gets drowned out by the gunfire, but the intention is clear. This is more than just an action show. It’s a story about internal **** won’t be for everyone. Some will find it too much, too grim, too repetitive. But for those who connect with its brutal honesty, The Punisher is more than entertainment. It’s uncomfortable, but cathartic. And make no mistake: without Jon Bernthal, this wouldn’t hit nearly as hard.Because The Punisher doesn’t ask whether Frank Castle is right. It asks if you, watching, would do the same. And even if the answer is no… sometimes, deep down, you wish someone like him existed. And that’s the disturbing part. And the fascinating one.
Jan 11, 2019
60
The Punisher Season 2 is a lot of fun — really violent, excessive fun. Your mileage may vary. But there’s also no denying that this time around, The Punisher has swapped bullets for brains, leaning into easy entertainment over meaningful narrative.
Nov 13, 2017
58
But set aside the occasional bullet-ballet flourishes and the whiff of government paranoia, and you’re left with something that feels like a melancholy riff on some CBSy procedural like Seal Team. Which isn’t bad. But it ain’t frickin’ good.
Nov 16, 2017
50
It’s a dank, depressing series made on too little money that could have been vastly improved by cutting the episode order by at least a third. At 13 hours, you’ll feel as if you’re the one being punished for something.
Nov 16, 2017
40
It’s a slow, monotonous story without a clear antagonist, and Frank is a grim, one-note character who works better as a supporting player than a lead. Amber Rose Revah brings some liveliness as a potentially sympathetic Homeland Security agent, but she barely interacts with Frank in the first six episodes.
Nov 13, 2017
30
Though Netflix provided critics with the whole first season in advance, I ran out of patience after six episodes; they featured maybe enough material to justify three episodes, and probably two.
Nov 16, 2022
10
Out of all the marvel netflix series, this was the one I was the least interested in. Season 1 turned out to be one of my top 3 favorites. Season 2 is also solid.
Mar 25, 2026
5
While it's great to see Jon Bernthal as the lead of his own series, the writing and directing in this series was stereotypical and lackluster by today's standards, as if it was made in the 1990's.
Apr 17, 2020
3
The show is just a plain disaster with alot of over acting by main immortal characters and teary depressed frank castle. Thus and a back story that's boring as tj hooker's worst episodes
Jan 14, 2024
2
I'm glad they took a run at this, but sadly it's not good. John Bernthal seems woefully miscast as Frank Castle. He's too small, physically, and it just looks silly when 9 out of 10 of the guys he fights are always bigger than him. Frank is always drawn as being a big guy. It needed an imposing figure to play him (think: Reacher). And Bernthal's performance is too smug. He always feels like he's moments away from giving that little head bobble that he does and that weird smug smirk. He seems like he would have been a much better fit as a Mafia guy that Punisher fights, rather than Punisher himself. Saddling Frank with a kid was a seriously bad move. Punisher works and operates alone. He has a kind of code about that kind of thing and the Frank Castle from the comics would never have a kid tagging along, regardless of who they are in connection to the story. It's all too formulaic, watered-down, and neutered. The best comics run is Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis. Give us a true to the source adaptation of that, or don't bother. The world doesn't need a PG-15 Punisher. That misses the point entirely.
