Things Look Bleak For THE PUNISHER As Viewership Numbers And Rotten Tomatoes Score Plummet

Things Look Bleak For THE PUNISHER As Viewership Numbers And Rotten Tomatoes Score Plummet

The Punisher being cancelled already seemed like a certainty given Netflix's relationship with Disney, and these latest numbers may have sealed Frank Castle's fate. Find out more details after the jump...

News
By JoshWilding - Jan 24, 2019 02:01 AM EST
Filed Under: Punisher
Source: Business Insider
It's been clear for a while now that Marvel's TV shows on Netflix are, well, doomed, but a lot of fans are hoping that The Punisher somehow sticks around when all is said and done. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as if that will be the case because a new report from analytics firm Jumpshot claims that viewership for season two is down a massive 40% compared to the weekend when the first batch of episodes premiered. To make matters worse, the show's Rotten Tomatoes score currently sits at a pretty mediocre 50%.

A combination of low viewership and bad ratings aren't going to do The Punisher any favours. 

While there's been some talk of Marvel using the characters elsewhere, we've also heard that Netflix has the exclusive rights to the Man Without Fear and company for at least the next two years. By that point, Marvel Studios may want to just reboot these heroes rather than putting them on ABC, Hulu, or even Disney+ (which will be the home of shows featuring characters from the movies).

Have you guys watched The Punisher yet? If so, let us know your thoughts in the usual place.
About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
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AC1
AC1 - 1/24/2019, 2:17 AM
The issue with Netflix viewership figures is that it's all based on their expectation that viewers are just going to drop everything and binge the entire season within the first 3 days it's released. While that's certainly true for a significant amount of the audience, it isn't true for the whole viewership, and thus always makes it look like the shows are underperforming.

But then, it's probably just excuses they can use to justify cancelling it like they are with the rest.
Polaris
Polaris - 1/24/2019, 2:32 AM
@AC1 - I agree. I binged the first seasons of marvel netflix but after JJ s2 I've watching more slowly, but just because I'm not done with the season after the first weekend doesn't mean I don't care about the show(s)
BritishMonkey
BritishMonkey - 1/24/2019, 3:36 AM
@AC1 - I haven't even started watching it yet but I will when I have the time. And that's the problem, people have lives and do things to do over the weekends so we don't always have time to watch what we want.
Prork
Prork - 1/24/2019, 2:23 AM
I think some of the underperformance could also be down to people not wanting to invest their time in a show that they know is going to be cancelled.
For the most part, I enjoyed season 2, definitely seemed to come undone a bit towards the end though.
ArthurFleck
ArthurFleck - 1/24/2019, 2:59 AM
@Prork - that's definitely true for me. Now that I know this is the last season of Punisher I'm ever gonna get with the perfectly cast Bernthal, in taking my time and enjoying this final outing. I'm watching only an episode or 2 a night.
Manmarvel
Manmarvel - 1/24/2019, 2:29 AM
What do they expect in a series that Netflix won't advertise and you know is going to be dropped without a wrapped up ending? Having said all that, I really enjoyed this show, felt a little long but I still enjoyed it.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 1/24/2019, 2:30 AM
I doubt we were going to get a S3 either way, so...
ArthurFleck
ArthurFleck - 1/24/2019, 3:13 AM
The Daredevil and Punisher shows are the only cancellations I'm really feeling. The other shows are unfortunate but DD and Pun are on another level, and it mainly comes down to casting perfection. I could watch Bernthal play Frank year round and never tire of it. It's his best role. I'm taking my time watching this last season cuz I know once it's done I'll probably never rewatch these shows and I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet. I'm on episode 5 now.
Kurne
Kurne - 1/24/2019, 3:25 AM
I gotta say, I'm just starting the season and I'm not as much of a fan of Bernthal's take on Punisher as I used to be. It feels like he's adding too much of his other roles into it. I know he gets typecast a lot, but still. I'm only at the start of the season, but the way Frank's acting I could interpret as Shane or any of his movie characters.

I think he's almost too comfortable with the role.
RolandD
RolandD - 1/24/2019, 4:32 AM
DD Season 3 was one of the top streamed shows for weeks after it was released and still canceled. None of this matters. All of the Marvel shows fates were predetermined after Marvel announced its own streaming service.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 1/24/2019, 4:39 AM
Well to be fair, the first season had an even worse score on RT. So its safe to say many fans here don't give a shit what the critics on RT have to say about the Punisher because they've got it wrong before.
BatesMT
BatesMT - 1/24/2019, 5:18 AM
This season wasn't that great. First few episodes are good but once they go back to NY and start to focus on the uninteresting Billy arc, things go down hill. There are a few bright spots in later episodes but not many.
Capfan82
Capfan82 - 1/24/2019, 5:23 AM
I don't know about anyone else, but I think releasing this in January was stupid. I have so much stuff going on that I literally haven't had any time to watch it yet.
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/24/2019, 6:05 AM
@Capfan82 - Netflix did it so they could wash their hands of it as quickly as possible.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 1/24/2019, 5:46 AM
TBH I didn’t care to check those things because I have been enjoying a lot the new Season, specially Frank and Amy's bond and how endearing it can be to see Frank open up to someone else like this. So for me it’s whatever. Can’t wait to finish the last three episodes today.
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