Portal:Television

The Television Portal

Flat-screen television receivers on display for sale at a consumer electronics store in May 2008

Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. The medium is capable of more than "radio broadcasting", which refers to an audio signal sent to radio receivers.

Television became available in crude experimental forms in the 1920s, but only after several years of further development was the new technology marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white television broadcasting became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion. In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was introduced in the U.S. and most other developed countries.

In 2013, 79% of the world's households owned a television set. The replacement of earlier cathode-ray tube (CRT) screen displays with compact, energy-efficient, flat-panel alternative technologies such as LCDs (both fluorescent-backlit and LED), OLED displays, and plasma displays was a hardware revolution that began with computer monitors in the late 1990s. Most television sets sold in the 2000s were still CRT, and it was only in early 2010s that flat-screen TVs decisively overtook CRT. Major manufacturers announced the discontinuation of CRT, Digital Light Processing (DLP), plasma, and even fluorescent-backlit LCDs by the mid-2010s. LEDs are being gradually replaced by OLEDs. Also, major manufacturers have started increasingly producing smart TVs in the mid-2010s. Smart TVs with integrated Internet and Web 2.0 functions became the dominant form of television by the late 2010s.^{[better source needed]} (Full article...)

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Horrible Histories is a British live-action historical and musical sketch comedy television series, based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Terry Deary. The show was produced for CBBC by Lion Television with Citrus Television and ran from 2009 to 2014 for five series of thirteen half-hour episodes, with additional one-off seasonal and Olympic specials.

The TV show carries over the graphic style and much of the content of the Horrible Histories book series. It maintains the franchise's overall irreverent but accurate focus on the dark, gruesome or scatological aspects of British and other Western world history, spanning predominantly from the Stone Age to the post-World War II era. Individual historical eras or civilisations are defined and named as in the books, with sketches from several different time periods combined within a single episode. Live-action sketches—which often parody other UK media or celebrities—and music videos are intercut with animations and quizzes. The starring troupe are Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond and Sarah Hadland, alongside a large supporting cast headed by Katy Wix, Giles Terera, Lawry Lewin, Alice Lowe and Dominique Moore. The black rat puppet "host", Rattus Rattus, appears in short bridging segments, explaining the factual basis for each sketch and helping children understand the facts.

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Credit: Caroline Culler

A newscast typically consists of the coverage of various news events and other information, either produced locally in a radio or television station newsroom, or by a broadcast network. It may also include such additional material as sports coverage, weather forecasts, traffic reports, commentary and other material that the broadcaster feels is relevant to their audience.

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... that Angelito de Canal 13, the mascot of the Chilean television network Canal 13, was inspired by its creator's son?
... that Pedro Berroeta Morales, a diplomat and later the president of a Venezuelan television channel, has also written fiction and essays on topics from science to esotericism?
... that the Japanese live-action television drama adaptation of Accomplishment of Fudanshi Bartender was first broadcast in Taiwan before being broadcast in its home country?
... that Japanese actor Kouhei Higuchi prepared for his role on the television drama adaptation of My Personal Weatherman by learning from a weather forecaster?
... that Mike Gorman spent 43 consecutive years as the television play-by-play commentator for the Boston Celtics?
... that television producer Paul Graham insisted on "a big game feel" for the sportscast he considered his "baby"?

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In the age of television, image becomes more important than substance.

— S. I. Hayakawa

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...that the Simpsons short Good Night aired April 19, 1987 on The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first ever appearance of the Simpson family on television?

...that one of the television advertisements from the Good things come to those who wait Guinness advertising campaign was voted the "Best ad of all time" by the British public?

...that Black Entertainment Television comedy series We Got to Do Better, had its name changed from Hot Ghetto Mess amidst allegations of enforcing negative stereotypes of African Americans?

...that the WWF in 1986 introduced a stable of masked wrestlers to keep the injured wrestler Andre the Giant on television, but off the ring?

...that Russian television implied that Filipp Kirkorov won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with "Kolibelnaya Dlya Vulkana" when he in fact only came 17th?

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Jennings in 2002

Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings CM (July 29, 1938 – August 7, 2005) was a Canadian and American television journalist. He was best known for serving as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. Despite dropping out of high school, Jennings transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists.

Jennings started his career early, hosting a Canadian radio show at age 9. He began his professional career with CJOH-TV in Ottawa during its early years, anchoring the local newscasts and hosting the teen dance show Saturday Date on Saturdays and then co-anchoring the CTV Television Network's national newscast. In 1965, ABC News tapped him to anchor its flagship evening news program. Critics and others in the television news business attacked his inexperience, making his job difficult. He became a foreign correspondent in 1968, reporting from the Middle East. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various television-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Comparison of image quality between ISDB-T (1080i broadcast, top) and NTSC (480i transmission, bottom) (from Digital television)
Image 2Color bars used in a test pattern, sometimes used when no program material is available (from History of television)
Image 3An RCA Victor Color TV ad featuring milliner Lilly Daché in 1959. (from Color television)
Image 4A map depicting digital terrestrial television standards (from Digital television)
Image 5The Philco Predicta, 1958. In the collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from History of television)
Image 6Philo Farnsworth in 1924 (from History of television)
Image 7RCA CT-100 at the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention playing Superman. The RCA CT-100 was the first mass-produced color TV set. (from Color television)
Image 8This live image of actress Paddy Naismith was used to demonstrate Telechrome, John Logie Baird's first all-electronic color television system, which used two projection CRTs. The two-color image would be similar to the basic Telechrome system. (from Color television)
Image 9John Logie Baird in 1925 with his televisor equipment and dummies "James" and "Stooky Bill" (right) (from History of television)
Image 10First television test broadcast transmitted by the NHK Broadcasting Technology Research Institute in May 1939 (from History of television)
Image 11The first mass-produced Czechoslovak TV-set Tesla 4001A (1953–57) (from History of television)
Image 12Samsung Smart TVs on display (from Smart TV)
Image 13DBS satellite dishes (from History of television)
Image 14Samsung's discontinued Orsay platform (from Smart TV)
Image 15The earliest photograph of a television picture, showing the face of Oliver Hutchinson in June 1926. The television picture was projected using Baird's television camera. (from History of television)
Image 16Ferdinand Braun (from History of television)
Image 17LG smart TV using the Web browser (from Smart TV)
Image 18The Nipkow disk. This schematic shows the circular paths traced by the holes, which may also be square for greater precision. The area of the disk outlined in black shows the region scanned. (from History of television)
Image 19Manfred von Ardenne in 1933 (from History of television)
Image 20An early Smart TV from 2012 running the discontinued Orsay platform (from History of television)
Image 21Ad for the beginning of experimental television broadcasting in New York City by RCA in 1939 (from History of television)
Image 22Hovannes Adamian c. 1900s (from Color television)
Image 23Tihanyi' Radioskop patent (1926) was recognized as Document of Universal Significance by the UNESCO (from History of television)
Image 24RCA 630-TS, the first mass-produced television set, which sold in 1946–1947 (from History of television)
Image 25Family watching TV, 1958 (from History of television)
Image 26LG Electronics smart TV from 2011 (from Smart TV)

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Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

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The sixth season of the Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada on November 28, 2006, concluded on May 14, 2007 and contains nineteen episodes. This season depicts the lives of high school juniors, seniors and graduates as they deal with some of the challenges and issues young adults face such as imprisonment, online predators, burglary, substance abuse, stress, gambling addiction, financial difficulties, school rivalries, pregnancy scares and death. This is the first season in franchise history to feature college aged characters in prominent roles. Unlike the previous seasons, which took place over the course of an entire school year, season six only covers the fall semester (September to December) of the school year, utilizing a semi-floating timeline. It also marks the first death of a main character in the series.

Production took place between May and December 2006. (Full article...)
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Bleach is an anime television series based on Tite Kubo's manga series of the same name. It was directed by Noriyuki Abe, produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Studio Pierrot, and aired in Japan from October 5, 2004, to March 27, 2012, running for a total of 366 episodes. The series follows the adventures of high school student Ichigo Kurosaki who can see spirits and becomes a Soul Reaper, after assuming the duties of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki.

Viz Media obtained the foreign television, home video and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha on March 15, 2006. Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English adaptation of the anime, and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies. The English adaptation of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV in their Bionix programming block on September 9, 2006. Cartoon Network in the U.S. began airing Bleach the following evening on September 10 as part of Adult Swim. (Full article...)
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Olivier in 1972

Laurence Olivier (1907–1989) was an English actor who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. From 1935 he performed in radio broadcasts and, from 1956, had considerable success in television roles.

After attending drama school, Olivier began his professional career with small touring companies before being taken on in 1925 by Sybil Thorndike and her husband, Lewis Casson, as a bit-part player, understudy and assistant stage manager for their London company. In 1926 he joined the Birmingham Repertory Company, where he was given the chance to play a wide range of key roles. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives, and in 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, building it into a highly respected company. There his most celebrated roles included Shakespeare's Richard III and Sophocles's Oedipus. In the 1950s Olivier was an independent actor-manager, but his stage career was in the doldrums until he joined the avant garde English Stage Company in 1957 to play the title role in The Entertainer. From 1963 to 1973 he was the founding director of Britain's National Theatre, running a resident company that fostered many future stars. His own parts there included the title role in Othello (1964) and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1970). (Full article...)
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Formby entertaining British troops during the Second World War

The English comic, singer and actor George Formby (1904–1961) performed in many mediums of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. His career spanned from 1915 until December 1960. During that time he became synonymous with playing "a shy, innocent, gauche, accident-prone Lancashire lad".

Formby began his working life as a jockey but always held an ambition to become a performer. In 1915, against the wishes of his father, Formby made his screen debut in the film By the Shortest of Heads. Upon his father's death in 1921, he began to build a full-time performing career, and worked predominantly on the variety circuit. In 1926 he began his music career, singing light, comical songs, and playing the ukulele or banjolele. From 1934 he increasingly worked in film, and had become a major star by the 1930s and '40s. He appeared on television for the first time in 1938 in the festive special Christmas Greetings. He became the UK's highest-paid entertainer during those decades. The film historian Brian McFarlane writes that Formby portrayed "essentially gormless incompetents, aspiring to various kinds of professional success ... and even more improbably to a middle-class girlfriend, usually in the clutches of some caddish type with a moustache. Invariably he scored on both counts". (Full article...)
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Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane also provides the voices of Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire.

Family Guy is an American animated sitcom that features five main voice actors, and numerous regular cast and recurring guest stars. The principal voice cast consists of show creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis (who replaced Lacey Chabert after the first season (her last episode is "Holy Crap," now marketed as the second episode of season two)), Seth Green, and Mike Henry; Patrick Warburton and Arif Zahir were later added to the main cast (the former being promoted from recurring cast); Recurring voice actors include Adam West, Sam Elliott, John G. Brennan, Nicole Sullivan and Jennifer Tilly, and repeat guest stars include Phyllis Diller, Charles Durning, Rush Limbaugh, James Woods and Phil LaMarr.

Many cast members provide voices for multiple characters. The voice actors, in portraying the various character personalities on the show, draw inspiration from celebrities and pop culture. Family Guy characters have been played by more than one actor, after members of the show left the series or had conflicting obligations. (Full article...)
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The fifth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada on September 19, 2005, concluded on March 20, 2006 and contains nineteen episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian serial teen drama television series. This season depicts the lives of a group of high school tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students as they deal with some of the challenges and issues teenagers face such as body image, teenage pregnancy, drug dealing, coming out, sexual identity, religion, eating disorders and relationships.

Filming took place between May 2005 and November 2005. (Full article...)
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BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010.

The competition, a former member of the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY), is open to UK-resident percussion, keyboard, string, brass and woodwind players, who are eighteen years of age or under on 1 January in the relevant year. (Full article...)
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The Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male individual from the world of disabled sports. Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States Paralympic soccer player Eli Wolff, the accolade's trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is presented to the disabled sportsman adjudged to be the best at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was first bestowed as part of the ESPY Awards in 2005 after the non-gender specific Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was presented the previous three years (all won by sportsmen). Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts. It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.

The inaugural winner of the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2005 was Paralympic track and field competitor Marlon Shirley, who won two medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and was the first para-athlete to go below eleven seconds in the men's 100-meter category with a time of 10.97 seconds. In 2015, South African wheelchair racer Krige Schabort was selected as the recipient of the award. As of 2018^[update], he is the only athlete born outside of the United States to have won the accolade, though three additional foreign sportsmen have earned nominations. Track and field athletes have won more awards than any other sport with four with three triathlon winners and two winners each coming in sledge hockey, mixed martial arts, and wrestling. It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent winner of the award was American para-swimmer Brad Snyder in 2022. (Full article...)
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The second season of The O.C. commenced airing in the United States on November 4, 2004, concluded on May 19, 2005, and consisted of 24 episodes. It aired Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET in the United States on Fox. In addition to the regular 24 episodes, two special episodes aired before the season premiere. "The O.C.: Obsess Completely" documented the show's influence on popular culture in its first year. The following week, "Welcome to The O.C.: A Day in the Life," provided a behind-the-scenes look at the show.

The season was released on DVD as a seven-disc boxed set under the title The O.C.: The Complete Second Season on August 23, 2005, by Warner Home Video. On September 7, 2008, the season became available to purchase for registered users of the US iTunes Store. In the United Kingdom the season premiered January 11, 2005 on Channel 4. In Canada the season aired on CTV Television Network and in Australia it was broadcast by Network Ten. (Full article...)
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24 title card. The television series, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, first aired on Fox on November 6, 2001.

24 is an American dramatic action/thriller television series co-created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran that premiered on Fox on November 6, 2001. The show centers on the fictitious Los Angeles branch of the U.S. government's "Counter Terrorist Unit" (CTU). The series is presented in real time format; each one-hour episode depicts one hour's worth of events, and each season is a 24-hour period in the life of protagonist Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland), a CTU agent. The first six seasons of the show are set in Los Angeles and nearby locations – both real and fictional – in California, although other locations have been featured. The television film Redemption is primarily set in the fictional African country, Sangala. The seventh shifts locations to Washington, D.C., and the eighth season is set in New York City. The ninth season Live Another Day takes place in London.

The first three seasons aired over a complete television season between October and May, taking hiatuses between blocks of episodes. Beginning with the fourth season, Fox scheduled 24 to premiere midseason in January with a two-night four-hour premiere, with new episodes airing every week until a two-hour finale in May. Season seven was due to premiere on January 13, 2008, but was delayed an entire year due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. Fox aired a two-hour "prequel" film, 24: Redemption, on November 23, 2008, that bridges the gap between seasons six and seven. Season seven premiered on January 11, 2009, with a four-hour premiere over two consecutive nights. Fox announced that the eighth season would be the final season of 24, with the series finale airing May 24, 2010. With the conclusion of the eighth season, 24 aired a total of 192 episodes and the 2-hour television film, 24: Redemption. In 2013, Fox announced that 24 would return with a ninth season titled 24: Live Another Day containing 12 episodes which debuted on May 5, 2014. (Full article...)
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The Devil May Cry anime series is directed by Shin Itagaki and produced by Madhouse. The English adaptation of the anime has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment. They are based on the Devil May Cry video game series produced by Capcom. The background of the storyline is primarily based on the first and third installments of the series, Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening respectively. The series follows the daily life of demon hunter Dante as he adopts a young girl named Patty Lowell and faces off against a demon seeking to attain godhood.

The anime was originally announced at the Tokyo Game Show on September 22, 2006, with plans to release twelve episodes of the series. Unlike most anime, the episode titles were released in English instead of the customary Japanese. The first episode aired on June 14, 2007, with the twelfth shown on September 6, 2007. The episodes aired on WOWOW. (Full article...)
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The third season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons aired on Fox between September 19, 1991, and August 27, 1992. The showrunners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes for the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, and Sam Simon. An additional episode, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", aired on August 27, 1992, after the official end of the third season and is included on the Season 3 DVD set. Season three won six Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" and also received a nomination for "Outstanding Animated Program" for the episode "Radio Bart". The complete season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 26, 2003, Region 2 on October 6, 2003, and in Region 4 on October 22, 2003. (Full article...)
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Kaze no Stigma (風の聖痕; lit. Stigma of the Wind) is an anime series directed by Jun'ichi Sakata and produced by Gonzo. They are based on the light novel series Kaze no Stigma by Takahiro Yamato, and adapt the source material over twenty-four episodes. The plot of the episodes is based on the return of Kazuma Kannagi to Japan after being exiled by his clan, and his subsequent interactions with his clan.

The series aired from April 2007 to September 2007 in Japan on thirteen networks, with Chiba TV, Fukui TV, Tokyo MX TV, TV Hokkaido, and TV Saitama airing the episodes first on 11 April 2007. The remaining networks began airing the episodes later in May, with the exception of Kumamoto Broadcasting, which broadcast the first episode on 14 May 2007. (Full article...)
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Blanchett at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con

Cate Blanchett is an Australian actor who has worked extensively on screen and on stage. She made her stage debut in 1992 as Electra in the National Institute of Dramatic Art production of the play of the same name, and followed in 1993 with performances in Timothy Daly's Kafka Dances, for which she won the Sydney Theatre Critics Award for Best Newcomer, and the Sydney Theatre Company stage production of Oleanna, winning Best Actress. She is the first actor to win both awards at once. She went on to perform several other roles on stage, notably Susan Traherne in Plenty (1999), Hedda Gabler in Hedda Gabler (2004), Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2009), Yelena in Uncle Vanya (2011), and Claire in The Maids (2013).

Blanchett's first leading role on television came with 1994's Heartland, followed by the 1995 miniseries Bordertown. In 1997, she made her feature film debut in a supporting role in the World War II drama Paradise Road. That year, she had her first leading role in Oscar and Lucinda, which earned her a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 1998, Blanchett received worldwide attention for playing Queen Elizabeth I of England in the acclaimed drama film Elizabeth, for which she won Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award. Elizabeth and her next film, the 1999 thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley, performed well at the box office although her other 1999 releases, the widely praised An Ideal Husband and the largely panned Pushing Tin, were commercially unsuccessful. (Full article...)
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Clark Gregg

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a media franchise and shared fictional universe that is the setting of superhero television series based on characters that appear in Marvel Comics publications. Marvel Television released the first series in the universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which began airing on ABC during the 2013–14 television season, and was joined by Agent Carter in the 2014–15 television season. Inhumans aired on ABC in the 2017–18 television season. Netflix's Marvel series began in 2015 with Daredevil and Jessica Jones, with Luke Cage releasing in 2016. Those series were followed by Iron Fist, the crossover miniseries The Defenders, and The Punisher in 2017. Additionally, the MCU expanded to Hulu with Runaways, also in 2017, and Helstrom in 2020, and expanded to Freeform with Cloak & Dagger in 2018. Marvel Studios—the production studio behind the MCU feature films—began releasing series in 2021 that feature greater interconnectivity with the films than these series.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is headlined by Clark Gregg in the role of Phil Coulson, while Hayley Atwell stars as Peggy Carter in Agent Carter, both reprising their roles from the MCU films. Anson Mount headlines Inhumans as Black Bolt. Charlie Cox is featured as Matt Murdock / Daredevil in Daredevil, while Krysten Ritter leads as Jessica Jones in Jessica Jones, which also introduces Mike Colter as Luke Cage, who later headlined Luke Cage. Finn Jones stars as Danny Rand / Iron Fist in Iron Fist and joins Cox, Ritter, and Colter in reprising their roles for The Defenders. Jon Bernthal stars as Frank Castle / Punisher in The Punisher, after being introduced in the second season of Daredevil. Runaways co-stars Rhenzy Feliz as Alex Wilder. Cloak & Dagger sees Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph as Tandy Bowen / Dagger and Tyrone Johnson / Cloak, respectively. Helstrom stars Tom Austen and Sydney Lemmon as Daimon and Ana Helstrom, respectively. (Full article...)

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