How to Watch the Netflix Marvel Shows Now That They've Been Retconned as MCU Canon

In October 2023, Marvel Studios published The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline. Featuring a foreword by the studio’s One Above All, Kevin Feige, the book was said to be “the go-to resource for fans who are hoping to connect the dots and truly understand the complex web of interconnections between the different Marvel movies and television series.” While fans seemed to clearly understand that films that were not made by Marvel Studios were not part of the MCU’s so-called Sacred Timeline, there was much less clarity on where television series that were also no made by Marvel Studios stood. And so, projects such as the ABC melodrama Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hulu’s Runaways and the 13 seasons of the Defenders-verse series that streamed on Netflix from 2015-2019 have always been the subject of online debate. When none of those series were included in The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, fans believed they had some clarity…and then Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios shared his belief that the events of the Netflix series took place on the MCU’s Sacred Timeline. And then, as Echo made its streaming debut, Disney Plus added all the Defenders-verse series to the Official Timeline order of the MCU. Winderbaum’s belief became the official word: the Netflix series are now MCU canon.

But now that some time has passed, now that we actually see how well-integrated the stories are, I personally, Brad Winderbaum, will confidently say that they are part of the Sacred Timeline.
Brad Winderbaum on Marvel Television’s Netflix series

With the revelation that all 13 seasons and ALL 161 nearly hour-long episodes are now part of the Infinity Saga. While that makes the uber-cool MCU rewatch damn near impossible, there are still those among you who are sure to try it. While it is in no way as cut and dried as it appears on Disney Plus–flashbacks are a storytelling staple of the Marvel Netflix series and each of them (other than The Defenders) has more than one season–it’s still possible to place each of the Netflix series right where they belong in the MCU. And if you’re looking for such a thing, you’re in luck. Though none of the events of the Netflix series impact the known MCU in any way, we can still place them among the Marvel Studios projects…so we did.

The biggest thing to realize if you’re about to dive in is that without going minute by minute of each episode and of most of the films, there is no TRUE chronological order. For instance, parts of Doctor Strange take place in 2016 but the bulk of it takes place in 2017 and parts of each of these series take place all over the timeline. For the purposes of this list, each project is placed where MOST of the events take place. It’s also worth noting that while most of the films that were released in the Infinity Saga were set when they were released, that’s not the case with the series. For example, Season 1 of Daredevil was released in 2015 but takes place in 2014.

Daredevil Season 1

Daredevil 1.10, “Nelson v. Murdock”, features several flashbacks that take place in August 2014, well over two years after the Battle of New York in The Avengers. In that episode, which also takes place a few months after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Foggy and Matt are interns at the law firm Landman and Zack and together turn down full-time jobs there to pursue more fulfilling work by opening their own firm which they eventually do in January 2015. The episode also includes Matt’s first time putting on the homemade, black suit.

Outside of the flashbacks, the events of Daredevil Season 1 all take place between January and mid-February 2015 which means–as is indicated on Disney Plus–that it fits after Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and I Am Groot, all of which take place in mid-to-late 2014.

Jessica Jones Season 1

Jessica Jones 1.01, “AKA Ladies Night”, is set in March 2015, just a few weeks after the events of Daredevil Season 1. The events of the season finale are set in mid-April 2015, head of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Daredevil Season 2

Though some flashbacks in episode 2.09, “Seven Minutes in Heaven”, take place earlier in the year, episode 2.01, “Bang”, takes place in October 2015 and the season wraps up by November 2015. Chronologically, the events of Ant-Man take place BEFORE Daredevil Season 2.

Luke Cage Season 1

Much of the first season of Luke Cage takes place simultaneously with the second season of Daredevil. Though there are plenty of flashbacks, episode 1.01, “Moment of Truth”, is set in early November 2015 and the final brawl with Willis Stryker on Malcolm X Boulevard takes place in early December 2015.

Iron Fist Season 1

After succeeding in the trial of Shou-Lao the Undying, Danny Rand became the Iron Fist in 2015. His return to New York, as seen in episode 1.01, “Snow Gives Way”, takes place in February 2016. The season wraps up in March 2016 when Danny and Colleen Wing arrive in K’un-Lun.

The Defenders

Netflix’s crossover event series, The Defenders, brought Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Danny Rand together against the Hand. The series kicks off in early May 2016 and is all wrapped up by mid-May 2016, meaning part of takes place concurrently with Captain America: Civil War.

The Punisher Season 1

After debuting in Daredevil Season 2, Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle took center stage in his own series. Episode 1.01, “3 AM”, is set in November 2016 and the season concludes before Christmas 2016. That window fits in nicely between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Doctor Strange.

Jessica Jones Season 2

Sort of free of Kilgrave, ace PI Jessica Jones returned to Netflix in 2018 for a second season. Episode 2.01, “AKA Start at the Beginning”, is set in April 2017 and the finale, “AKA Playland”, takes place in June 2017.

Luke Cage Season 2

Like Jessica Jones Season 2, the sophomore season of Luke Cage rolled out on Netflix in 2018. Mike Colter’s bulletproof hero of Harlem found himself up against the wonderful villain Bushmaster. A lot happened in a short amount of time as 2.01, “Soul Brother #1”, was set in August 2017 and the events of Season 2 came to an end in September 2017.

Iron Fist Season 2

Season 2 of Iron Fist, which hit Netflix in September 2018, seemed to find its creative groove, especially compared to the low-rated Season 1. The ten-episode second season was set ALMOST entirely in October 2017. Much of the latter part of the season, including 2.10, “A Duel of Iron”, which sees Danny defeat Davos, takes place concurrently with Season 3 of Daredevil. Danny’s search for Orson Randall is set in early 2018.

Daredevil Season 3

The third and final season of Daredevil was released on Netflix was the fourth Marvel TV series to hit the streaming service in 2018. Set in October and November 2017, Season 3 of Daredevil wraps up just a few weeks before Thor’s escape from Muspehlheim as seen in the opening of Thor: Ragnarok.

The Punisher Season 2

The final season of The Punisher was the second to last of Netflix’s Defenders-verse. Essentially, the events are happening right alongside those of Season 3 of Jessica Jones, though those darn flashbacks make for a fun time sorting out the details. Episode 2.02 of The Punisher takes place right about the same time as Episode 3.01 of Jessica Jones and the season wraps up in mid-May, less than weeks earlier than JJS3. However, the epilogue of the final episode, “The Whirlwind”, takes place in August 2018…which kind of matters.

Jessica Jones Season 3 (April 26-May 28)

The third and final season of Jessica Jones kicks off in April 2018 and largely takes place at the same time as the second season of The Punisher. 3.13, “AKA EVERYTHING”, the last episode of the Netflix-produced series, ends with Jones deciding to stay in New York City and embrace her role as a hero. The first episode of the series, “AKA The Perfect Burger”, takes place just ahead of Cassie Lang’s weekend at Scott Lang’s house as shown the in beginning of Ant-Man and The Wasp. Indeed, much of the series takes place concurrently with the main events of Ant-Man and The Wasp, which, of course, includes the post-credit scene that includes the impact of Thanos’s snap.

TL;DR

The Netflix series all take place between the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War. Canonically, the snap takes place on May 31st, 2018, so all the events of the Defenders-verse take place within the Infinity Saga.