The second and final season of the American

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...

series ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

'', which is based on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

character of the same name, revolves around

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

saving a girl from being murdered, forcing him to decide if he should embrace his life as the Punisher. It is set in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The season was produced by

Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. Marvel Television was formed as a division of Marvel En ...

in association with

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

and

Bohemian Risk Productions This is a list of television production companies, sorted by country. Australia Egypt * Studio Misr * Lotus Film Production * Ramses Naguib * Salah Zulfikar Films * Mary Queeny Films * Egyptian Media Production City * Dollar Film * New ...

, with Steven Lightfoot serving as

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

Jon Bernthal Jonathan Edward Bernthal (; born September 20, 1976) is an American actor. He came to prominence for portraying Shane Walsh on the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2010–2012; 2018), where he was a starring cast member in the f ...

stars as Frank Castle, with principal cast members Ben Barnes,

Amber Rose Revah Amber Rose Revah (born 24 June 1986) is a British actress and writer. She is known for playing the role of Dinah Madani in Marvel's '' The Punisher'' opposite Jon Bernthal and Ben Barnes for which she received a nomination for 'Outstanding Act ...

, and Jason R. Moore returning from the first season. They are joined by

Josh Stewart Joshua Regnall Stewart (born February 6, 1977) is an American actor. He had his breakout with a main role as Officer Brendan Finney on the sixth and final season of the NBC crime drama television series ''Third Watch'' (2004–2005). Following ...

Floriana Lima Floriana Lima is an American actress. She played Maggie Sawyer on The CW's ''Supergirl''. She began playing recurring character Darcy Cooper in season 2 of the ABC drama '' A Million Little Things'', and was promoted to the main cast for season ...

, and

Giorgia Whigham Giorgia Whigham (born August 18, 1997) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Kat in the first season of ''13 Reasons Why'', Amy Bendix in the second season of '' The Punisher'', Beth in the third season of '' Scream'', and ...

. Former series regular

Deborah Ann Woll Deborah Ann Woll (born February 7, 1985) is an American actress. She played Jessica Hamby in the HBO drama series ''True Blood'' (2008–2014), which earned her a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She portrayed Karen Page in four tele ...

returns in a guest capacity. A second season of ''The Punisher'' was ordered in December 2017, a month after the first season was released. The new cast members were added in February 2018. Filming began in New York City the next month and concluded in August. The season premiered on January 18, 2019, with the full season of 13 episodes released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Netflix canceled the series on February 18, 2019.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Frank Castle / Punisher * Ben Barnes as Billy Russo *

as Dinah Madani * Jason R. Moore as

Curtis Hoyle Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

as John Pilgrim *

as Krista Dumont *

as Amy Bendix

Recurring

* Royce Johnson as Brett Mahoney *

Alexa Davalos Alexa Davalos Dunas (born May 28, 1982) is an American actress. Her early role as Gwen Raiden on the fourth season of the TV series ''Angel'' (2002–03) was followed by other television roles and some Hollywood films, including '' The Chronic ...

as Beth Quinn *

Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series ''L.A. Law'',

as Anderson Schultz *

Annette O'Toole Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in t ...

as Eliza Schultz * Jordan Dean as Jake Nelson * Samuel Gomez as José * Jimi Stanton as Todd * Brett Bartholomew as Phillip

Notable guests

* Rob Morgan as

Turk Barrett Turk Barrett is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted in stories featuring Daredevil, in which his inept schemes are played as comic relief. Barrett was a recurring ...

Tony Plana José Antonio Plana (born April 19, 1952) is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC television show ''Ugly Betty'' and for voicing Manuel "Manny" Calavera in the video ga ...

as Rafael Hernandez *

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (born November 17, 1958) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in the 1980 revival of ''West Side Story'', and went on to appear in the 1983 film '' Scarface'' as Al Pacino's character's si ...

as Marion James *

Karen Page Karen Page is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett. She served as the original love interest for Daredevil, working as an office manager for him and Foggy Nelson ...

Production

Development

A second season of ''The Punisher'' was ordered by

in December 2017, less than a month after the first season was released. Showrunner

Steve Lightfoot Steve Lightfoot (sometimes credited as Steven Lightfoot or Robert Scott Fraser) is a British television writer and producer who worked as an executive producer and writer on the NBC thriller television series ''Hannibal'', the Netflix series '' ...

had an idea of what a second season would be when he first knew what the "journey of season 1" was at the start of his work on the series, and did not let the fan reaction to the first season affect his plans since "some people love it, some people hate it, some people are in the middle. My personal opinion with that stuff is you just have to be true to the character and the story you choose to tell." The season consists of 13 episodes.

Writing and design

Lightfoot felt the theme for the season was

"adopting the mantle" of the "Punisher". The season begins with Castle traveling across the United States as a way for him to get "a look at the country he fought for but has never really seen" according to Lightfoot. Costume designer Lorraine Calvert gave Castle a "more relaxed" look while he is traveling, having him wear

blue jeans Jeans are a type of trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with the addition of copper pocket rivets added by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and patented by D ...

. Castle eventually puts back on another vest with the character's well-known skull symbol, with Lightfoot and

working to make that "an integral, plot-driven moment" in the season. Bernthal felt they had "figured out a very intelligent, very tactical reason, a very psychologically tactical reason to wear it" with it making "a lot of sense". Lightfoot also spoke to the inclusion of

in the season, feeling the relationship between her and Castle would continue "to be very important". The makeup department worked to realistically place the scars on Billy Russo's face, who is still recovering from his injuries and is suffering from brain damage. Though Russo resembles the character Jigsaw from the comics, he does not take on that name in the season. Ben Barnes also shaved his head for the role this season and adopts a thicker, rougher, New York accent, "more akin to his Bensonhurst roots". Barnes felt Russo had a vulnerability in the season similar to

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leona ...

's portrayal of

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...

in the first season of '' Daredevil''. Dinah Madani has become "fixated" on Russo, visiting at the hospital daily with complete "tunnel-vision on him".

added that Madani is "self-medicating" after the events of the first season, resorting to drinking and promiscuous behavior. As Krista Dumont is " ry uptight nddoesn't want to let anyone into her personal world", Calvert worked to make her wardrobe equally concealing. Doing this "became a really important part of her character, to hide behind the facade of the clothes that cover her up."

Casting

Stars returning for the season were confirmed in February 2018, including

as Frank Castle / Punisher, Ben Barnes as Billy Russo,

as Dinah Madani, and Jason R. Moore as

. Announced as joining them for the season were

as John Pilgrim,

as Krista Dumont, and

as Amy Bendix, with

Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series ''L.A. Law'',

as Anderson Schultz and

as Eliza Schultz announced in May.

was confirmed to be reprising her role as

in December 2018.

Filming

Filming for the season had begun by March 10, 2018, in

The Bellmores, New York In New York, The Bellmores collectively refers to: * Bellmore, New York * North Bellmore, New York {{Short pages monitor