Netflix ends Marvel link

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones

Global streamer Netflix has cancelled The Punisher and Jessica Jones, removing the final traces of Marvel Television series from its platform.

The culling of the shows, the two remaining Marvel properties on Netflix, marks the end of a five-year licensing relationship between the SVoD giant and the Disney-backed entertainment outfit.

“Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix,” said a statement from the streamer. “In addition, in reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the forthcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel’s Jessica Jones.

“We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and thank the passionate fans who have followed these series from the beginning.”

The end has been swift for Netflix’s Marvel superhero shows, with all five series cancelled in as many months. In October, the streamer removed Luke Cage and Iron Fist, before confirming the end of its inaugural Marvel production Daredevil in November. Season three of Jessica Jones will still air on Netflix later this year, but will be the final Marvel instalment.

Speculation has surrounded the future of Marvel productions on Netflix since Daredevil’s termination, with many viewing the cancellations as a signal of OTT battle lines being drawn ahead of Disney launching its own streamer, Disney+, later this year.

The Mouse House signalled its SVoD intentions in 2017 when it announced it would be withdrawing its movies from Netflix a little under a year after its exclusive licensing deal with the streamer had begun.

Commenting on Netflix’s decision, Marvel Entertainment chief Jeph Loeb wrote an open letter reassuring fans that this would not be the end for the characters and that they may live on in another home.

“Our network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters… but you know Marvel better than that,” Loeb wrote. “As [Daredevil main character] Matthew Murdock’s dad once said, ‘The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it’s how he gets back up.’ To be continued…!”

In related news, Netflix has also cancelled comedy Friends From College after two seasons. Co-created by married duo Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco, the show follows a group of friends whose lives are still entangled decades after they all graduated from Harvard University. The cancellations follow on from the 16-episode renewal of multi-camera sitcom Alexa & Katie.