Disney+ to host all six Netflix Marvel shows and AGENTS OF SHIELD from mid-March

Disney+ will add all six of the Marvel Netflix TV shows and ABC's Agents of SHIELD to their roster on 16 March.

The package includes three seasons apiece of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, two seasons apiece of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Punisher, the team-up mini-series The Defenders and all seven seasons of ABC's Agents of SHIELD. That's 20 seasons of television, totalling 297 episodes, that will be making the jump to the service.

The fate of the Netflix shows was initially unclear after Netflix confirmed they were leaving the service a few months ago. However, the appearance of the Netflix version of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, played by Vincent D'Onofrio in Hawkeye and the appearance of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, played by Charlie Cox, suggested that those shows were going to be brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.

The fate of the two well-regarded ABC series Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter was a lot more ambiguous. Agents of SHIELD had gone to some lengths to tie itself in with the MCU, featuring guest appearances by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Jamie Alexander as Sif, reprising their roles from the film series, alongside lead actor Phil Coulson, with Clark Gregg reprising his role from the films, and Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter.

Avengers: Endgame saw a tie-in with Agent Carter, with James D'Arcy reprising his role as Jarvis in that movie. However, the final seasons of Agents of SHIELD saw a splintering away from the events of the films, reportedly due to the film team not wanting to give the TV crews any secret information about the movies for it fear of leaking.

Agent Carter is not, so far, joining Disney+ in the United States, but it is already available on the service in other countries, including the UK.

To accommodate the new shows, which feature swearing, violence and more adult content such as sex and drugs, Disney+ will be enhancing its parental controls in the US. In the UK and some other countries, Disney+ operates an adult-oriented subchannel called Star TV, which is likely to host the shows outside the US.

Marvel regains TV rights to the Netflix Marvel characters

Marvel has regained, in full, the TV and film rights to the characters from Netflix's Defenders universe: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Punisher, plus the crossover event series that linked them together.

Netflix collaborated with Marvel, via their ABC production arm, to make three seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones apiece and two seasons apiece of the other shows, plus the event crossover mini-series, totalling thirteen seasons of television produced in just four years. Netflix co-funded the series in return for transmission rights, but ABC - owned by Disney - actually made them, and a two-year exclusivity contract was put in place so that the no-one else could make shows or movies featuring those characters after the contract ended. Today, that limitation for both Jessica Jones and The Punisher expired, returning control of the characters to Disney and Marvel Studios.

Disney's plans for the characters remains unclear. Of the group, only Daredevil and The Punisher were known to a wider audience before production started, but the shows did bring a new level of fame to the other characters, particularly Jessica Jones and Iron Fist's supporting character, Colleen Wing. Based on the contract, it appears that Marvel are free to bring the characters back with the same actors playing them, but it's less clear if they can refer to the events of the Netflix shows.

One notable issue is that, so far, Disney have kept all of their MCU output in the "family audience" category. The Netflix Marvel shows were very much not in this category, with swearing, sexual content and much more graphic violence than we've seen in the MCU to date. One possibility would be to create bring back the characters but with a more familiar MCU style or tone. Another, potentially more interesting, possibility would be to keep the adult tone and create a sort of M-rated MCU, which these characters could inhabit alongside Deadpool, whose forthcoming third film (but first under the MCU banner) has been confirmed to be an adult-oriented film. One can imagines Disney continuing these shows on Hulu, which is rumoured to be taking on a more "adult Disney" role, and on the Disney Star service internationally (a sub-channel of Disney+ featuring somewhat more adult programming).

It's also unclear what will happen to the existing shows. Netflix are currently streaming all of them as normal, but their distribution rights are no longer exclusive and they could appear elsewhere, such as on a Disney streaming service.

Rumours have circulated that Charlie Cox's Daredevil (whose rights expired much earlier) has already been seen on the set of the third Spider-Man film, currently shooting, and the MCU powers that be have already confirmed that they strongly considered portalling the Defenders in from New York City at the end of Avengers: Endgame before deciding that would be too random for people who hadn't seen the shows, indicating that Marvel Studios are well aware of the popularity of these versions of the characters and are certainly considering ways to bring them back.

Marvel is not lacking for content on Disney+ in the meantime, however, with WandaVision currently airing, soon to be followed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and What If...?, with Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk in production and Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, Ironheart and Armor Wars in pre-production (a further series, Wakanda, has been announced but is unlikely to go into production until after Black Panther 2 is released).

Netflix cancels THE PUNISHER and JESSICA JONES

In the biggest non-surprise story of the year so far, Netflix has decided to terminate their four-year collaboration with Marvel. They have now cancelled The Punisher just after the release of its second season and Jessica Jones ahead of the launch of its third. This follows the cancellation of Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Daredevil last year.

Marvel pinned the blame on Netflix, saying the streaming service had the final say on whether to renew the show or not. Netflix in turn have blamed Marvel for trying to change their contractual agreement (most notably by reducing their seasons from 13 to 10 episodes, as every single viewer urgently wanted). However, it's hard not to see the real reason here: in autumn this year Marvel's parent company will be launching the Disney+ streaming service with a number of new shows, including mini-series focusing on MCU characters Scarlet Witch, Vision, Loki, Winter Soldier and Falcon, not to mention multiple Star Wars shows and Disney's immense back catalogue of TV series and films. Netflix decided it was not worthwhile to effectively be promoting a rival service's characters for them.

Marvel's statement is interesting, however, confirming that they will be exploring these characters again in the future. Whether that is directly continuing these shows with the same casts - which they can do after a two-year break - or some kind of full reboot is unclear.

Counting the still-to-air Jessica Jones Season 3, the Marvel/Netflix collaboration has chalked up 13 seasons and 161 episodes in less than four years, which is quite impressive. Some of the seasons were exceptional (in particular the first season apiece of Daredevil and Jessica Jones), although others were not, and the big team-up in The Defenders fell a little flat. Given the sheer speed at which the shows were producing episodes, which saw some fans fall off the bandwagon, and the increasing variance in quality, the cancellation of the shows is perhaps not entirely the disaster it would have been a couple of years back. Still, Daredevil had gotten his mojo back in the third season and Iron Fist's second season was a great improvement over the first, so there are some regrets about seeing where these stories woudl have gone.

The final season of Jessica Jones and the Marvel/Netflix universe is expected to be released in the next couple of months.

Jessica Jones: Season 2

Jessica Jones has defeated her nemesis, Kilgrave, but the victory brings her little joy. She continues to survive from day to day, exposing adulterers to make ends meet and relying on the bottle to get through the tough days (which are most days). But a new case heralds a painful moment of personal revelation, one which will have dire ramifications for Jessica and her friends.

The first season of Jessica Jones jostles with that of Daredevil at the apex of the Netflix subset of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Netflix's Marvel shows are grounded, smart and beautifully-shot, although in terms of story and character they tend to be all over the place; Jones and Daredevil were great, Luke Cage and Iron Fist rather more variable and the team-up show The Defenders only okay.

Fortunately, the second season of Jessica Jones is rather more than okay. It's never in danger of replicating the emotionally raw, intense storyline of the first season which pitted Jones against the mind-controlling Kilgrave (played with powerful, dark charisma by David Tennant), but this is mainly because it's too smart to try. Instead, the second season opens with setting Jones new challenges in the form of her friend Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) going through a difficult patch, a new landlord arriving who quickly develops problems with Jessica and a new case arriving which seems ridiculous but rapidly becomes deadly.

Season 2 of Jessica Jones opens quietly, with a number of slow-burning episodes dedicated to building and exploring character. The character who benefits the most from this is Jeri Hogarth (a never-better Carrie-Ann Moss), Jessica's lawyer-turned-sometimes-client who is faced with both personal and professional difficulties and deals with them in her own, increasingly ruthless way. Carrie-Ann Moss kicks more backside in this season than she has in anything since The Matrix and the show makes full use of her formidable screen presence, making up for her being slightly under-utilised in the previous Marvel Netflix shows.

This slow-burn approach gradually gives way to more impressive episodes full of plot development and character twists, giving the season a feeling of escalating action culminating in a surprisingly sombre, intimate finale (with less of the flashy, cliched "final battle" feel to it as in some of the other Netflix Marvel shows). This structure works really well, although it's not without the risk of people dropping out of the show long before things start picking up. Still, whilst Netflix insists on these shows having 13 episodes rather than the 8 or 9 most of them feel like they deserve at best, the creators have to come up with better ways of filling those hours (Iron Fist's second season in fact has a count of only 10 episodes, which shows Netflix may be listening to this complaint).

Thematically, Season 2 of Jessica Jones is about family and what happens when your family is not torn apart by outside forces (like Kilgrave last time out) but from within, by secrets and hidden vices and lies. The characters are put through the emotional wringer several times over and unexpected, shocking events mean that the status quo is not going to be put back together again. Yet the second season impressively ends on a note of hope and optimism for Jessica, having just taken her to her darkest moment, perhaps a nod to the fact that this character deserves more than to just have bad things happen to her again and again.

It's not a perfect season. Trish's story starts off well but then goes off the rails later on, with Taylor clearly at a loss on how to portray her character's bizarre addiction storyline, and a couple of storylines feel like wheel-spinning for the sake of it, but these issues are pretty minor compared to the ones that have blighted some of its sister-shows.

Easily the best season of a Marvel Netflix show since the original Jessica Jones almost three year ago, Season 2 is well-written, fantastically-characterised season of television which takes bold risks (like the near-absence of an over-arcing villain) and comes up with new ideas to refresh the increasingly stale slate of shows in this universe. Fresh and compelling, Season 2 of Jessica Jones (****½) is well worth watching. It's available on Netflix worldwide now.

Update on the Marvel/Netflix TV shows

2017 was a successful year for Marvel's collaboration with Netflix. They got no less than three seasons of television on-air: Iron Fist Season 1 in March, The Defenders mini-series in August and The Punisher Season 1 in November. Each one of these shows had impressive viewing figures and cemented the success of the partnership between the two companies.

Well, it did, anyway. Disney, who own Marvel, have announced that they are launching their own streaming service in 2019 with an adult-oriented, Netflix-style channel which will feature both a Marvel TV series and a live-action Star Wars show. This has left the fate of the Netflix shows up in the air and relying very much on the contractual agreement between Marvel/Disney and Netflix. It might be that the shows will move from Netflix to the new Disney channel (not likely to be called that, for branding reasons), or that they will remain on Netflix as long as Netflix keep renewing them. It's also possible that Marvel will also buy out Netflix of any long-term contractual agreement. Netflix would probably like to keep the shows as long as possible: they have good brand awareness, they've been generally well-received and they're surprisingly cheap (at least compared to the likes of Altered Carbon and The Crown).

The long-term future of the Netflix/Marvel universe may in question, but at least in the short to medium term we know what's going on. Here is the status of the Marvelflix shows going forwards:

Jessica Jones Season 2 was filmed between April and September 2017. The season is in post-production and is likely to air in February or (if Netflix want to clear everything out of Altered Carbon's way) March 2018.

Krysten Ritter, Rachel Taylor, Carrie-Ann Moss and Eka Darville return and are joined by Leah Gibson, Janet McTeer and J.R. Ramirez as new characters. No word on the who the villain is, but David Tennant will return for flashbacks as Kilgrave.

Luke Cage Season 2 was filmed between June and November 2017. The season has only just started post-production. It seems likely to hit the August 2018 release slot.

Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Rosario Dawson, Alfre Woodard and Theo Rossi return from Season 1 and are joined by Mustafa Shakir, Gabrielle Dennis and Thomas Q. Jones. Finn Jones will also feature in a multi-episode arc teaming up Luke and Iron Fist, seen by some as a possible pilot for a future Heroes for Hire series (although logistically how this will work with the new Marvel/Disney streaming service remains to be seen), which could potentially replace both a Luke Cage and Iron Fist third season if the collaboration is well-received.

Daredevil Season 3 started filming in November 2017 and is likely to run through April 2018. This is the same filming slot for The Punisher last year, so this makes it pretty likely we'll get this in November 2018.

Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio return and Wilson Bethel joins the cast.

Iron Fist Season 2 starts filming in the next week or two, with shooting likely to run through May 2018. This is an unusual filming slot for a Netflix series, suggesting that Netflix may be considering getting it out on screen in December next year shortly after Daredevil, although that might be tight. More likely they will put it in the February 2019 slot. Still, getting new seasons of all four Netflix shows out in one year would be impressive.

Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick return and it is expected that Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Stroup will also return. Simone Missick is expected to cross over from Luke Cage as well, and is possible that Rosario Dawson will also cameo.

The fate of the Marvelflix universe beyond the second season of Iron Fist remains questionable (neither The Defenders nor The Punisher have been renewed yet), and it will be interesting to see if the cataclysmic events of The Avengers: Infinity War have any bearing or even be mentioned in the new seasons (given that the trailer depicts New York as a key battleground in the new movie, you'd assume that it would come up). But we have another four seasons of these shows to get through before we know for sure what's going to happen.

The Defenders: Season 1

An ancient organisation, the Hand, is causing trouble in New York City. They've already run afoul of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and invoked the enmity of the Iron Fist. Now, with time running short and their resources dwindling, they are forced into desperate, high-profile gambits that attract the attention of not just Iron First and Daredevil, but also Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. The four defenders of New York reluctantly join forces to bring the Hand down...if they can.

The Defenders is the culmination of two and a half years of careful planning by Marvel TV and Netflix. Back in April 2015 they released the first season of Daredevil, a TV series based on one of their lower-tier heroes, rooted in defending Hell's Kitchen, New York from more mundane threats than the aliens and demigods that the likes of the Avengers have to deal with. More series followed focusing on other characters from the same milieu: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, as well as a second season of Daredevil. The plan was always to bring them together in a big team-up to fight a mutual threat.

The Defenders has a few jobs it needs to do. It has to be a satisfying team up for these four heroes, it has to work as a story in its own right, it has to pay off the groundwork and scene-setting down in five previous seasons of television and it has to be accessible to newcomers. It's a tall order, not helped by the gradual decline in quality of the Netflix Marvel series that preceded it, but one that it kind of pulls off.

The opening episodes of The Defenders focus on our individual heroes and the problems they are going through: Matt Murdoch has dropped the Daredevil persona and is making a go of it as a lawyer, whilst Jessica Jones is still recovering from Kilgrave's depredations and working up the confidence to go back to work. Danny Rand is searching for more information on K'un-Lun in Asia and Luke Cage has just gotten out of prison and returned home to Harlem. A surprising number of our heroes' supporting casts drop in, making these individual story strands work between in linking the mini-series to the ones that preceded it. Combined with a new storyline revolving around the Hand and one of their leaders, played with traditional charisma by Sigourney Weaver, this makes for a busy couple of opening episodes even before our heroes meet up.

When the gang does get together, the writers have fun setting up their dynamics: Matt's Catholic guilt and intensity gets little respect from the rest of the team and everyone seems to find Iron Fist kind of ridiculous. Jessica Jones gets the best lines and the best side-eye moments as she tries to work out what kind of crazy situation she's walked into, and all four lead actors seem to be having a great time.

The fight scenes are a serious step up from Iron Fist, being more dynamic and brutal, even if they don't get back to the earthy, gritty rawness of the first season of Daredevil. A few of the fight scenes also rely too obviously on CG or filming trickery to pull off having four complicated battles going on in one shot, which feels a bit gimmicky. But overall, the show competently handles its action scenes.

In terms of pacing, something that has caused almost all of the Marvel Netflix shows big problems (Luke Cage worse of all), Defenders benefits from having just eight episodes to unfold across. This makes for some breezy, fast-paced episodes (although, conversely, the best is arguably one that is mostly restricted to a Chinese restaurant and featuring our heroes talking about stuff) which come as a relief after the frantic wheel-spinning of some of the forebear series. The series even finds time to set up new dynamics: Colleen Wing, Misty Knight and Claire Temple get lots of stuff to do, hinting at a possible alternative superhero team who could take shape later on (although, given the impending Netflix/Marvel divorce, this seems less likely).

Unfortunately, the series continues to have a villain problem. Using the Hand is a bad idea, as they were boring and bland in both Daredevil and Iron Fist and are still boring and bland here. The idea of using the Hand leaders (the Fingers, appropriately) as counterpoints to our four heroes is a solid idea, especially since two of them were set up in previous Netflix shows, but it doesn't quite work as other members of the group receive little to no development. Sigourney Weaver's Alexandra is a big selling point of the series and Weaver gives a fine performance, but the character is left a little underdeveloped. More capable in the role of antagonist is Elodie Yung as Elektra, returning from the dead, but she takes quite a long time to rediscover her old mojo. It also doesn't help that the Hand's plan is murky and vague, and the stakes are never really made clear other than that bad things are going to happen to New York.

The result is a mini-series that is quite a lot of fun, and a merciful step up in quality from Daredevil Season 2, Iron Fist and Luke Cage, but one that is never in any real danger of replicating the quality of the first season of Daredevil or Jessica Jones. It really needs better villains and a clearer set of stakes and goals. But as it stands, The Defenders (****) works absolutely fine as a fun action series. It is available to watch on Netflix right now.

Trailers: THE DEFENDERS and THE DARK TOWER

A couple of big trailers rolled out today. First up is the trailer for The Defenders, the Netflix/Marvel series which teams up Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to take on a threat led by Sigourney Weaver.

The Defenders his Netflix on 18 August this year.

Next up is The Dark Tower, a film based on Stephen King's novel series of the same name. The film is both an adaptation of and a sequel to King's novels. If successful, it will be followed by a sequel and a spin-off, prequel TV series.

The Dark Tower is released in cinemas on 4 August this year.

Finn Jones cast in lead role in Netflix's IRON FIST TV series

Netflix have cast Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones (Ser Loras Tyrell) in their upcoming Iron Fist TV show. This is the fourth of six TV series they have planned with Marvel, following Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, with The Defenders and possibly The Punisher to follow.

Jones will be playing Danny Rand, a New York kid trained up in supernatural martial arts in a mysterious city. He returns to New York to fight crime, and presumably team up with Luke, Jessica and Daredevil at some future point.

The series, which will be run by former Six Feet Under producer Scott Buck, is expected to enter production in the summer to air in very late 2016 or early 2017. The second season of Daredevil airs next month, and a second season of Jessica Jones is expected to start production imminently to air around November. Luke Cage's first season just wrapped shooting and is expected to air in the summer.

JESSICA JONES renewed for a second season

Marvel and Netflix have confirmed that Jessica Jones will be returning for a second season. The show, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was released on 20 November 2015 and attracted widespread critical acclaim for its writing, acting, direction and unusually mature way of dealing with adult themes in a superhero setting.

Jessica Jones is the second of five shows Netflix and Marvel are developing. Daredevil already aired its first season at the start of the year, and its second season will be released this March. The first season of Luke Cage will debut later this year. Iron Fist will likely debut next year, with the key characters from all four shows then joining forces in a Defenders mini-series, likely in 2018.

Netflix and Marvel have also indicated they are looking at expanding their series roster with a new series based on The Punisher. The infamous Marvel anti-hero has been featured in several films but nonve of them have really taken off. However, Netflix and Marvel are excited about the character starring in the second season of Daredevil, where he will be played by The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal, and are actively discussing a new series featuring him. Whether the Punisher would then play a role in the Defenders TV series or would be completely unrelated is unclear.

Netflix and Marvel have previously hinted that Ghost Rider and Blade TV series could also be in in development, the latter possibly with the involvement of Wesley Snipes (who played the character in three films). However, so far those two series remain unconfirmed.

An airdate for the second season of Jessica Jones has not been announced, but assuming it starts filming in March or April, it could be released in November as with last year.

Jessica Jones: Season 1

Hell's Kitchen, New York. A private investigator named Jessica Jones makes her living from exposing cheating spouses, whilst trying to play down her former life as a superhero (due to being endowed with super strength). This becomes impossible when her former nemesis, Kilgrave, returns to New York. Kilgrave has the ability to control minds, making him a near-unbeatable foe. To defeat Kilgrave, Jones will need to call upon allies, her powers and confront her own motivations.

Jessica Jones is the second in a series of collaborations between Marvel and Netflix, following on from Daredevil and due to be followed by Luke Cage, Iron Fist and culminating in The Defenders, which will unite the four heroes into their own team. For that reason it might stand to reason that viewers should be expecting Jessica Jones to be an action pulp thriller, stylish but ultimately fitting into the "conflicted hero" mould pioneered by Daredevil. However, the show has absolutely no problem with going in a completely different direction.

Jessica Jones opens as a standard procedural, with Jones (Krysten Ritter) investigating yet another case of infidelity and running into Luke Cage (Mike Colter), a barman who also has superpowers. Jones and Cage's initially firery romance becomes problematic when Jones discovers that she was inadvertently responsible for a tragedy in Cage's life, one forced upon her by Kilgrave (David Tennant), a monstrous and egotistical man with the power to control minds. When Kilgrave returns to New York, intent on winning Jessica's heart and soul, Jessica at first wants to flee but then decides to stay and face her abuser. Given the utter formidable nature of his powers this proves to be a herculean task which forces the normally independent Jessica to call upon various friends and allies for help.

The result is a show which is focused not on superpowers and heroics (although both are present, they are treated matter-of-factly compared to other Marvel films and TV shows) but on psychology, survivor's guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder and revenge. There are moments of biting comedy, pathos, romance and tragedy, with a few major stunt set pieces and some real heroics put into play, but ultimately this is a much more adult, nuanced and subtle TV series about people with powers than we have seen before.

The series works well because it is not afraid to make Jones do things that are unlikable. She is sarcastic, rude and often apparently ungrateful, but is forced by events to rely on her friends for help and assistance in bringing Kilgrave down. As with Daredevil's first season, this results in what is effectively a 13-hour origin story as Jones the hero gradually emerges from the shell of Jones the survivor. Ritter plays this complex character well, by being able to retain viewer sympathy and empathy even when makes selfish or silly decisions.

Ranged against her is Tennant's Kilgrave, described (not without justification) as a walking example of white male privilege. As with Daredevil, the writers here chose to develop Kilgrave as the antagonist almost as well as Jones, peeling back the layers of his character to reveal someone shaped by a difficult childhood into an uncaring monster. Cleverly, the writers reveal that he is an incomplete character, desperately seeking a destiny and identity. These are among the things he hopes Jones can give him, but these also expose him as an insecure and needy character. It's also fascinating to encounter a villain who is ruthless, amoral and intelligent, but also remarkably unambitious. When you can walk into any apartment or mansion in the world and take it over for as long as you like, plans like conquering or destroying the world become rather moot. The lack of a grandiose plan for the villain is honestly rather refreshing, and makes the conflict feel more personal and more real. Tennant's intense performance is the perfect mix of Machiavellian planner, childlike anger and creepy stalker. The only negative here is one that's not really Tennant's fault: the producer's decided to have Tennant adopt an English accent in the role rather than an American one, or his native Scottish accent. The only other major role Tennant has played with an English accent is Doctor Who, which leads to moments of tonal disjointedness for viewers who are also fans of the latter. Once you adjust, that's not really a problem.

The battle between the abuser and his former victim forms the main through-line of the series, but other storylines come into play. Malcolm Ducasse (Eka Darville) starts off as Jessica's "junkie neighbour" cliche but rapidly evolves into the show's beating heart and soul. Luke Cage belies his appearance as a hunky motorcycle-driver to show someone suffering real emotional pain. Colter's acting is excellent, and bodes well his stand-alone show later this year. Carrie-Ann Moss also turns in a strong role as lawyer Jeri Hogarth (the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first major lesbian character), whose disintegrating marriage unexpectedly collides with Jessica's investigation into Kilgrave. Rachael Taylor also turns in an intriguing performance as Patricia Walker, a former child star now living in a fortified apartment out of fear for her safety.

The thirteen hour running time gives the writers time to experiment with the story, follow up on intriguing secondary characters and flesh out storylines and characterisation to the maximum. There is even time for experimental episodes, such as Jessica being trapped for an episode in her childhood home and Kilgrave in turn being interrogated in a cell designed especially for him and his powers. However, as with Daredevil, there is the feeling that thirteen hours is just a bit too much. With at least a couple of episodes shaved off, the result would have been a tighter focus which would have eliminated a few flabby storylines (the adventures of ex-soldier-turned-cop Will Simpson are completely uninteresting, not helped by Will Traval's indifferent performance). In addition, given the status of Kilgrave and Jones as mortal enemies and the tremendous danger of Kilgrave's powers, the way Jones continuously exposes herself to him seems recklessly dangerous. This is eventually - sort of - explained, but there is the feeling in a few mid-season episodes that the reason Kilgrave survives is because they need to pad out the running time, not because it makes much sense in the story. There is also a late-season crossover with Daredevil which is doubly jarring, because the tonal difference between the two shows is so huge they they don't feel like they take part in the same universe and also because the character in question becomes highly prominent in the episode for absolutely no reason unless you've seen Daredevil as well.

These are fairly minor complaints, however. At its best, Jessica Jones (****½) is cleverly-written and boldly inventive, with surprising-but-justified twists for many of its well-played characters. It's a show that works both as a stand-up thriller and a more nuanced study of grief and abuse. The first season is available now on Netflix.

Trailer for JESSICA JONES

Marvel and Netflix have aired the first full-length trailer for Jessica Jones, their second collaboration (after Daredevil) set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This series has a slightly different premise to other Marvel properties. Main character Jessica Jones (Breaking Bad's Krysten Ritter) discovers she has powers, uses them to help people but is a failure, causing more problems than she solves. She gives up on crime-fighting with powers, restricting their use and instead operates as a normal freelance investigator. She is reluctantly drawn back into using her powers after meeting fellow sort-of superhero Luke Cage (Million Dollar Baby's Mike Colter) and being reunited with Kilgrave (ex-Doctor Who David Tennant), a villain who does not see himself as such.

This is the second of four TV series which will build up, Avengers style, to a big crossover event series. The first was Daredevil (which returns for a second season in the spring of 2016) and the second is Luke Cage, which will debut later in the year. The fourth, Iron Fist, will likely debut in 2017 ahead of the Defenders crossover series in late 2017 or some time in 2018.

All thirteen episodes of Jessica Jones will be released by Neflix on 20 November.