Earlier today, news broke out that Netflix decided to ax both of its remaining Marvel TV series The Punisher and Jessica Jones. While fans have been expecting the cancellation of both shows considering the fact that Netflix already pulled the plug on the rest of its Marvel TV shows like critically-acclaimed Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, many had hoped that The Punisher would live to see a third batch of episodes on the streaming site. Now, with The Punisher gone, many fans have one certain question in mind: why was the series put on the chopping board? Where did The Punisher go wrong?
While Netflix has refused to answer the question by focusing on thanking everyone involved in the series in its official statement regarding the cancellation, Screen Rant has its own answer. As loved as the series is, the Marvel Netflix offerings have been expensive to produce and research has shown that the shows haven't been doing so well on the site.
Netflix doesn't release any of its viewing figures, however, third-party analytics teams revealed that Marvel shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist had been losing viewers over the years. This was expected of course – the general decline in viewership suggested that viewers were interacting with the Marvel TV shows as a discrete brand. While series like Luke Cage would gain popularity during its first release, there would come a time when the series would be whittled down to hardcore fans for its viewers.
The Punisher saw the same trend, unfortunately. Even though it lost viewers at a slower rate, it still did lose viewership during its second season. Now, fans have to give up hopes for a third season.
The Punisher season 2 is available for streaming on Netflix.
Read: Vincent D'Onofrio On The Punisher And Jessica Jones Being Cancelled By Netflix