Daredevil: Born Againcould end with season 2, as a newMarvel Cinematic Universereport bears negative news for the future of the series. Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, and the rest of theDaredevil: Born Againcastbrought their A-game in season 1. While I can easily say thatthe new Daredevil series was easily my favoriteMCU TV show, counting only Marvel’s Disney+ series and not Netflix’s The Defenders Saga, there were some issues.
That is mainly due to the nature of howDaredevil: Born Again’s storycame to be, asMarvel Studios changed the show’s direction far into production for season 1. I’m glad that happened, as new showrunner Dario Scardapane, who was a writer on Netflix’sThe Punisher, brought back key characters from the originalDaredeviland presented a darker tone that was closer to the beloved show. That said, the show ended up being somewhat uneven due to the different visions, and I believe that affected its performance in a huge way.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Established A Negative MCU Viewership Record
The MCU Series Did Not Perform As Well As Expected
While I lovedDaredevil: Born Again, and reviews for the MCU series were overwhelmingly positive, it seems like the audience was just not there to back it up.Daredevil: Born Againhas broken a negative record for the franchise, becomingthe first live-action MCU series not to chart even once in Nielsen’s Top 10 Original Streaming Shows Listthroughout its entire run (viaThe Direct). That was not the only negative development to come out ofDaredevil: Born Againseason 1’s viewership.
Episodes 1 and 2
465
464
373
Episodes 5 and 6
344
470
463
Episode 9
385
According to Nielsen data,Agatha All Along, the MCU series that will not return for season 2, had 9 million viewers in the 35-day window measured by the company.Daredevil: Born Again, which has been renewed for a second season, failed to get close to the supernatural series, standing at 5.8 million viewers in the same window.Agatha All Alongended up being the 45th most-watched show of the 2024-25 TV season, according to Nielsen (viaVariety), whileDaredevil: Born Againranked 92nd. Based on its poor viewership, I’m afraidDaredevil: Born Againseason 2 could be the show’s last.
Marvel Currently Has Plans For Multiple Seasons Of The Daredevil Series
Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock Has To Take Back New York City
Daredevil: Born Again’s bad viewership was not enough to get Marvel Studios to cancel the series. That said, when the Daredevil show was first announced, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed that season 1 would have a whopping 18 episodes. That was then trimmed down to 9, withDaredevil: Born Againseason 2 confirmed to have one less, clocking in at 8 episodes. Marvel simply split the initial order into a two-season one rather than renewingDaredevil: Born Againfor season 2 after the premiere.
Due to that, the negative viewership did not impact the studio’s plans for the show, as season 2 was already in motion. Marvel even has plans to go beyond that season with Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. Speaking withScreenRant, Marvel Studios' Head of Streaming, Brad Winderbaum, revealed that they have a long-term plan for the show, saying,“Hopefully, season 3 and season infinity” will happen after season 2 in 2026. However, if viewership does not see an uptick, then those plans should fall through.
Daredevil: Born Again Will Have A Crucial Task For The Show’s Future
Based on the show’s Nielsen ratings,Daredevil: Born Againseason 2 needs quite the boost in viewership to show Marvel that it should continue making new seasons of the show. I’m convinced that could happen, given how the second season will be fully worked on by the show’s new creative team, and it has already announced one major addition to its cast.Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones will returnto the screen for the first time since 2019 forDaredevil: Born Againseason 2.
Daredevil: Born Againseason 1 ended with Kingpin winning and taking over New York City with his Anti-Vigilante Task Force.Matt Murdock then decided to start an army, and season 2 will likely see Daredevil recruiting other street-level MCU heroes for that team, such as Ritter’s Jessica Jones and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. I believe that epic storyline should be enough to give the series a boost in viewership, but after season 1’s performance, I’m afraid thatDaredevil: Born Againseason 2 could be the show’s last, cutting its potential short.
