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167-983: The first season of the American streaming television series The Punisher , which is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name , sees Frank Castle uncover a conspiracy while seeking revenge for the death of his family. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise . The season was produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Bohemian Risk Productions , with Steve Lightfoot serving as showrunner . Jon Bernthal stars as Castle, alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach , Ben Barnes , Amber Rose Revah , Daniel Webber , Paul Schulze , Jason R. Moore , Michael Nathanson , Jaime Ray Newman , and Deborah Ann Woll . Development on The Punisher as

334-402: A television show could be squeezed into the limited telecommunication bandwidth of a copper telephone cable to provide a streaming service of acceptable quality, as the required bandwidth of a digital television signal was (in the mid-1990s perceived to be) around 200   Mbit/s , which was 2,000 times greater than the bandwidth of a speech signal over a copper telephone wire . By

501-400: A "body of characters where you feel like all sides and issues were given a voice so the audience can decide", from a veteran who is a "gentle group-therapy leader" to a "gun nut". When creating an original character for the series to serve as the "tough nemesis cop" who is hunting Castle, Lightfoot decided to "mix the paradigm up" by making the character female and his equal. Lightfoot noted that

668-562: A "journey" with the character if they understood this aspect of him. "We talked a lot as we developed the show that once you take hold of the hand of violence it's impossible to let it go. That relationship to violence really interested me, not just the fact he has the ability to use it but also the cost of it." Showrunner Steve Lightfoot on violence in The Punisher Rather than show the "beautiful" scenes of horror that were created for Hannibal , Lightfoot wanted to follow

835-572: A Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the Ilkhanid governor of Sistan . Kandahar was described by Ibn Battuta in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni . Timur the Great , founder of the Timurid Empire , captured Kandahar in 1383. He appointed his grandson Pir Muhammad as governor of Kandahar in 1390. Following his death in 1405, the city

1002-529: A Shia mosque in the city . The Arghandab River runs along the west of Kandahar. The city has 15 districts and a total land area of 27,337 hectares. The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902. Only 64% of families in Kandahar have access to safe drinking water; 22% of households have access to safe toilet facilities; and 27% of households have access to electricity, with the remainder dependent on public power. Kandahar's transportation infrastructure

1169-511: A TV show that was broadcast hours or days ago, or to replay the current TV show from its beginning. It also supports video on demand —browsing a catalog of videos (such as movies or television shows) which might be unrelated to the company's scheduled broadcasts. IPTV has an ongoing standardization process (for example, at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ). Streaming quality

1336-411: A Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his turban . On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, Ghulam Haider Hamidi , was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two deputy mayors had been killed in 2010, while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in

1503-414: A fan of Westerns and 1970s urban thrillers , Lightfoot felt that the series should combine those ideas due to Castle's antihero persona being an archetype of Western films but set in the urban environment of New York City. Lightfoot looked to films from those genres as inspiration for tone and style, ideas, and themes for the series, and also looked to 1970s conspiracy thriller films due to Castle being

1670-523: A fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great used the word Eusebeia (" Piety ") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous " Dharma " of his other Edicts written in Prakrit . Islamic conquest Until

1837-574: A fugitive in the series and the general sense of paranoia. The series makes a reference to Marathon Man (1976), while Lightfoot described the first episode of the series as a modern "updating" of Shane (1953). Lightfoot also took inspiration from the Bourne film series and the film American Sniper (2014) for the series. Regarding his previous television series Hannibal , Lightfoot stated that he learned from that series' creator Bryan Fuller to make an antihero like Hannibal Lecter relatable to

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2004-407: A full 13-episode season of The Punisher , confirmed Bernthal's involvement, and named Steve Lightfoot as executive producer and showrunner. Asked whether he would rather have a 10-episode season given the longer 13 episode-seasons have been criticized for other Marvel Netflix series, Lightfoot said that he wanted the season to be a "slow burn show" that was character-driven, and that he felt they had

2171-405: A governing authority through the imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Formal education for girls was banned as well as the consumption of TV, films, music with instrumental accompaniments , and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept

2338-538: A great deal of space for emotion and interesting color—and a bit of an attitude. Otherwise it's not going to be an authentic expression of the idea. There's a darkness in there that I'm happy to tap into." A soundtrack album for the season was released digitally by Hollywood Records on November 17, 2017, in conjunction with the season's Netflix release. All music composed by Tyler Bates: Bernthal and Woll appeared at New York Comic Con in October 2016 to officially announce

2505-636: A limited time. Channel 4's online service All 4 can only stream shows created in the US by companies such as HBO for thirty days after they are aired on one of the Channel 4 group channels. This is to boost DVD sales for the companies who produce that media. Some companies pay very large amounts for broadcasting rights with sports and US sitcoms usually fetching the highest price from UK-based broadcasters. A trend among major content producers in North America

2672-567: A local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty , conquered Kandahar and environs in the name of Islam. Ghanavids It is believed that the Zunbil dynasty were the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD. Kandahar was taken by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century followed by the Ghurids of Ghor . Kandahar appears to have been renamed Teginābād in

2839-529: A months-long campaign of carpet bombing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987. Kandahar International Airport was used by the Soviet Army during their ten-year troop placement in the country. The city also became a battle ground for the US and Pakistani-backed forces against the pro-Communist government of Afghanistan. Kandahar underwent a complete sociopolitical collapse in

3006-636: A name given to some cities that Alexander founded during his conquests. Kandahar was a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East and Central Asia . The territory became part of the Seleucid Empire after the death of Alexander. It is mentioned by Strabo that a treaty of friendship

3173-765: A natural cause. A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Mosque of the Cloak in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son Timur Shah had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued. From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of Dost Mohammad Khan as an independent principality . In September 1826, Syed Ahmad Shaheed 's followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage jihad against

3340-730: A new kind of customer called "cord cutters". Cord cutters are consumers who are cancelling their cable TV or satellite TV subscriptions and choosing instead to stream TV series, films and other content via the Internet . Cord cutters are forming communities. With the increasing availability of Online video platform (e.g., YouTube ) and streaming services, there is an alternative to cable and satellite television subscriptions. Cord cutters tend to be younger people. Kandahar Kandahar ( English: / ˈ k æ n d ə h ɑːr / ; Pashto : کندهار , romanized:  Kandahār ; Dari : قندهار , romanized:  Qandahār )

3507-527: A new standardization, therefore in 2012, with the contributions of Apple, Netflix, Microsoft, and other companies, Dynamic Adaptive Streaming , known as MPEG-DASH, was published as the new HTTP-based adaptive streaming standard. The mid-2000s were the beginning of television programs becoming available via the Internet . In 2003, TVonline Station was founded in Greece, making it the world's first television station to produce and broadcast content exclusively over

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3674-484: A poster for the season with a redacted release date were also released. On September 20, the official trailer for the season was released. Andrew Liptak of The Verge said it "sets up The Punisher with its own distinct tone that's different from the other Marvel Netflix shows. It wades into government conspiracies and hacking, which is reminiscent of shows like CBS 's Person of Interest or USA 's Mr. Robot , but with more gunfire." Nerdist 's Kendall Ashley called

3841-543: A practice known as over-the-top content delivery. Both IPTV and OTT use the Internet protocol over a packet-switched network to transmit data, but IPTV operates in a closed system—a dedicated, managed network controlled by the local cable, satellite, telephone, or fiber-optic company. In its simplest form, IPTV simply replaces traditional circuit switched analog or digital television channels with digital channels which happen to use packet-switched transmission. In both

4008-445: A price discounted from basic broadband plus basic cable . In 2017, YouTube launched YouTube TV , a streaming service that allows users to watch live television programs from popular cable or network channels, and record shows to stream anywhere, anytime. As of 2017 , 28% of US adults cite streaming services as their main means for watching television, and 61% of those ages 18 to 29 cite it as their main method. As of 2024 , Netflix

4175-443: A profile page for Karen Page. After revealing her login credentials in a post on Daredevil ' s Facebook page, readers who visited Page's profile found images referencing Page's research into Castle from the second season of Daredevil . Bernthal and other members of the cast were scheduled to appear at New York Comic Con 2017 to promote the season, but the panel was cancelled after the 2017 Las Vegas Strip shooting. Two weeks later,

4342-424: A scheduling conflict between the two productions, and chose to work on The Defenders . Instead, Lorraine Calvert designed the costumes for The Punisher after introducing the look of the character in the second season of Daredevil ; her take on the character's "beloved" comic-inspired costume balances the original design, Bernthal's needs as an actor and interpretation of the character, and Lightfoot's intentions for

4509-414: A second trailer was released revealing the season's release date of November 17, 2017. Tom Philip at GQ was not very enthused with the trailer, saying it was "hard to get super jazzed about another gritty, ultra-violent, gun-loving, non-superhero show right now." He was critical of the "utilitarian-sounding writing" in the trailer, but felt the chemistry between Bernthal and Woll would be a reason to watch

4676-475: A sequence such as when Russo blows up a hideout required minimal visual effects work because the explosion was shot practically, with Fuse mainly just adding some windows to the building that were removed for the explosion. The most technically difficult scene of the season to create was in the first episode, where Castle shoots someone from across the Mexico–United States border . Anderson estimated that

4843-592: A significant change for the industry. One year later the introduction of HTTP-based adaptive streaming, many companies such as Microsoft and Netflix developed their streaming technology. In 2009, Apple launched HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), and Adobe , in 2010, HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS). In addition, HTTP-based adaptive streaming was chosen for important streaming events such as Roland Garros , Wimbledon , Vancouver and London Olympic Games, and many others and on premium on-demand services (Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, etc.). The increase in streaming services required

5010-637: A spin-off from Daredevil began by January 2016, and it was ordered to series in April. Lightfoot was announced as executive producer and showrunner, with Bernthal and Woll reprising their roles from Daredevil . Filming took place in New York City from October 2016 to April 2017. Practical effects were augmented by the visual effects department, including the addition of muzzle flashes and gore to fight scenes. The season explores post-traumatic stress disorder for military veterans, and depicts "all sides" of

5177-517: A website originally created for DVD rentals and sales, began providing streaming content in 2007. In 2008 Hulu , owned by NBC and Fox, was launched, followed by tv.com in 2009, owned by CBS. The first generation Apple TV was released in 2007 and in 2008 the first generation Roku streaming device was announced. Digital media players also began to become available to the public during this time. These digital media players have continued to be updated and new generations released. Smart TVs took over

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5344-489: Is 6000 kbit/s, whereas UHD requires upwards of 16,000 kbit/s. For users who do not have the bandwidth to stream HD/4K video or even SD video, most streaming platforms make use of an adaptive bitrate stream so that if the user's bandwidth suddenly drops, the platform will lower its streaming bitrate to compensate. Most modern television streaming platforms offer a wide range of both manual and automatic bitrate settings which are based on initial connection tests during

5511-410: Is a smart TV . Within the same decade, rapid deployment of LTE cellular network and general availability of smartphones have increased popularity of the streaming services, and the corresponding apps on mobile devices . On August 18, 2022, Nielsen reported that for the first time, streaming viewership has surpassed cable. Considering the popularity of smart TVs, smartphones, and devices such as

5678-531: Is a city in Afghanistan , located in the south of the country on Arghandab River , at an elevation of 1,010 m (3,310 ft). It is Afghanistan's second largest city , after Kabul , with a population of about 614,118. It is the capital of Kandahar Province and the centre of the larger cultural region called Loy Kandahar . Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the Taliban . Despite

5845-403: Is a major trading center for sheep, wool , cotton, silk, felt , food grains , fresh and dried fruit . The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of marijuana and hashish . The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. A major fortified city existed at

6012-453: Is a streaming service owned by Apple Inc. Apple TV+ is a streaming subscription platform that launched November 1, 2019. The service offers original content exclusively made by Apple, being seen as Apple Originals. This streaming platform solely releases content that can only be found on Apple TV+, there is no third-party content found on the platform whereas several other streaming services have third-party content. The AppleTV+ name derives from

6179-540: Is a subsidiary of NBC Universal Television and Streaming. The streaming service gets its name from the NBC logo based on its colors. The platform had launched on July 15, 2020. The streaming service primarily features content that can be found on NBC networking channels as well as other third-party sources. Additionally, Peacock now offers original content that cannot be found on any other streaming platform. In December 2022, Peacock reached 20 million paid subscribers. In March 2023,

6346-470: Is considered as an important political area for Afghanistan revelations. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern , central and western Asia . In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the capital of the Hotak dynasty . In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani , founder of the Durrani dynasty , made Kandahar

6513-431: Is currently promoting and establishing an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast and broadband digital television and multimedia applications with a single-user interface. BBC iPlayer originally incorporated peer-to-peer streaming, moved towards centralized distribution for their video streaming services. BBC executive Anthony Rose cited network performance as an important factor in

6680-464: Is for a fee. In the UK, the term catch up TV was most commonly used to refer to these sort of services at the time. Since 2012, around 200 over-the-top (OTT) platforms providing streamed and downloadable content have emerged. Investment by Netflix in new original content for its OTT platform reached $ 13bn in 2018. Amazon Prime Video was originally launched in the year 2006. Upon its initial release,

6847-534: Is intended for viewing post- watershed . Honour systems are also used where users are asked for their dates of birth or age to verify if they are able to view certain content. IPTV delivers television content using signals based on the Internet Protocol (IP), through managed private network infrastructure entirely owned by a single telecom or Internet service provider (ISP). This stands in contrast to delivering content over unmanaged public networks -

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7014-499: Is only available to viewers in the United States because of licensing restrictions. Hulu is one of the only streaming services that provides streaming for current on-air television shows a few days after their original broadcast on cable television, but with limited availability. Hulu originally had both a free and paid plan. The free plan was accessible only via computer and there was a limited amount of content for users, whereas

7181-675: Is preserved in the epic poem Qandahār-nāma ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of Saib Tabrizi which is a classic of Persian literature. Mirwais Hotak , chief of the Ghilji tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan , an ethnic Georgian subject and governor of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotak dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. Mirwais resisted attempts by

7348-436: Is provided by Microsoft to prevent content being copied. Additionally, BBC iPlayer makes use of a parental control system giving users the option to "lock" content, requiring a password to access it. The goal of these systems is to enable parents to keep children from viewing sexually themed, violent, or otherwise age-inappropriate material. Flagging systems can be used to warn a user that content may be certified or that it

7515-741: Is the quality of image and audio transmission from the servers of the distributor to the user's screen. Also, Streaming resolution helps to measure the size of the streaming quality of video pixels. High-definition video (720p+) and later standards require higher bandwidth and faster connection speeds than previous standards, because they carry higher spatial resolution image content. In addition, transmission packet loss and latency caused by network impairments and insufficient bandwidth degrade replay quality. Decoding errors may manifest themselves with video breakup and macro blocks. The generally accepted download rate for streaming high-definition (1080p) video encoded in AVC

7682-524: Is the use of the " TV Everywhere " system. Especially for live content, the TV Everywhere system restricts viewership of a video feed to select Internet service providers , usually cable television companies that pay a retransmission consent or subscription fee to the content producer. This often has the negative effect of making the availability of content dependent upon the provider, with the consumer having little or no choice on whether they receive

7849-531: Is the world's largest streaming TV network and also the world's largest Internet media and entertainment company with 269 million paid subscribers, and by revenue and market cap. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact in the television streaming business with the lifestyle changes such as staying at home and lockdowns. The Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) consortium of industry companies (such as SES , Humax , Philips , and ANT Software)

8016-548: The Battle of Kandahar . Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of Habibullah Kalakani (Bache Saqqaw) placed the fortified city on lock-down and began torturing its population. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave from within the city's tall defensive walls, and as a result of this many people suffered after running out of food supplies. This lasted until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as

8183-510: The Brooklyn Navy Yard in night shoots, with Moss-Bachrach driving one of the cars. Filming for the season wrapped on April 9, 2017. Visual effects supervisor Greg Anderson and vendor FuseFX returned from the first season of Luke Cage to create the visual effects for The Punisher , creating 855 visual effects shots across the season. Their team changed in size for each episode, but generally consisted of 15 to 20 people. Due to

8350-603: The Daytime Emmy Awards was created. Later that year, Netflix made history by earning the first Primetime Emmy Award nominations for a streaming television series, for Arrested Development , Hemlock Grove , and House of Cards , at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards . Hulu earned the first Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series, for The Handmaid's Tale at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards . Traditional cable and satellite television providers began to offer services such as Sling TV , owned by Dish Network, which

8517-867: The Roosevelt Island and its steam plant, the Bronx County Courthouse , Newtown Creek , The Roosevelt Hotel , Astoria Park , Tudor City , Hunts Point, Bronx , the Forest Park Carousel , the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge , the " GoodFellas Diner " before it was damaged in a 2018 fire and the Mount Zion Cemetery , both in Maspeth, Queens , and in Astoria, Queens . A car chase for the season was filmed at

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8684-675: The Safavid Shah Tahmasp in return of 12,000 soldiers he received from the Shah to reconquer India. In 1595, Humayun 's son Akbar the Great reconquered the city by diplomacy. Akbar died in 1605 and when this news reached the Persian court, Shah Abbas ordered his army to besiege the city which continued until early 1606 and finally failed due to the reinforcements sent by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir that forced

8851-592: The Sikh invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by Ranjit Singh , the Sikhs had captured several of Afghanistan's territories in the east, including what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir . More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader. British war British-led Indian forces from neighbouring British India invaded

9018-518: The United States gun control debate . The season premiered in New York City on November 6, 2017, with the full season of thirteen episodes released on November 17 on Netflix , and received mixed to positive reviews, with Bernthal's performance, action sequences and improvements to its source material from the previous films gaining praise, but criticism towards its pacing and amount of violence. A surprise release had been planned for October, but

9185-585: The 10th-12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby Panjway served as the administrative center for the area. However, Kandahar was of much more strategic importance, to the extent that Minhaj-i-Siraj attributes the downfall of the Ghaznavids to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz sacked Lashkari Bazar , near Bost . Again,

9352-549: The 2010s with the rapid deployment of LTE cellular networks . These apps enable users to stream television content on mobile devices that support them. In 2008, the International Academy of Web Television , headquartered in Los Angeles, formed in order to organize and support television actors, authors, executives, and producers in web series and streaming television. The organization also administers

9519-577: The 2017 release instead. In early September 2017, Dominic Patten and Denise Petski of Deadline Hollywood commented on the lack of specific release date for the season at the time, calling it "an unusual" and "rare move for Marvel and Netflix, who usually give a lot of lead-up to the launch" of their high-profile series. The pair felt with the increased marketing of the season, it would release "sooner rather than later". Allison Keene of Collider expressed irritation at this because she and other television journalists were unable to plan content without knowing

9686-557: The 9th century, Kandahar and other regions ruled by the Zunbils were considered part of the Indian Subcontinent , though it was an Eastern Iranic realm which followed Zurvanism . In the 7th century AD , Arab armies conquered the region but failed to convert the entire population to Islam.The leader of the expedition was Abbad ibn Ziyad , who governed Sijistan between 673 and 681. In AD 870, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari ,

9853-573: The Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' "spiritual birthplace" and a strategic key to ward off the Taliban insurgency , as a part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water that the Taliban could not provide – encouraging support for the government in a city that was once the Taliban's headquarters. The most significant battle between NATO troops and

10020-582: The Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June, 1761. Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside,

10187-754: The Apple TV media player that was released in 2007. Disney+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company . Released on November 12, 2019, the service primarily distributes films and television series produced by The Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television , with dedicated content hubs for the brands The Walt Disney Company , Pixar , Marvel , Star Wars , and National Geographic , as well as Star in some regions. Original films and television series are also distributed on Disney+. Launched in 2007, Hulu

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10354-618: The Internet. Broadcasters filed lawsuits against Aereo, because Aereo captured broadcast signals and streamed the content to Aereo's customers without paying broadcasters. In mid-July 2012, a federal judge sided with the Aereo start-up. Aereo planned to expand to every major metropolitan area by the end of 2013. The Supreme Court ruled against Aereo June 24, 2014. Some have noted that as opposed to broadcast television, with demographics of mostly "unspokenly straight" white viewers, cable, and with streaming services, dollars from subscription can "level

10521-556: The November 17 release was announced. Regarding the decisions made concerning the New York Comic Con panel and the season's release, Loeb said that they were made "specifically because it was a week after a horrible, horrible incident. It hasn't changed the television series, the show is not predominantly about gun violence, and in fact it shows you the problems that occur in that world." Bernthal and Lightfoot felt delaying

10688-668: The Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz , but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew Mahmud Hotak . In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotak dynasty

10855-514: The Punisher character, Lightfoot and Bernthal ensured that the series was always respectful of the military and law enforcement despite Castle's actions being generally criminal; Lightfoot said it was an "interesting thing to be respectful of the police and at the same time, the character is beyond the law." Feeling that it was not his place to preach about the politics of vigilantism or the United States gun control debate , Lightfoot wanted to create

11022-559: The Roku and Chromecast, much of the US public can watch television via the Internet. Internet-only channels are now established enough to feature some Emmy-nominated shows, such as Netflix 's House of Cards . Many networks also distribute their shows the next day to streaming providers such as Hulu Some networks may use a proprietary system, such as the BBC utilizes their BBC iPlayer format. This has resulted in bandwidth demands increasing to

11189-587: The Safavid retreat. In the Mughal–Safavid War , Kandahar was once again lost to the Safavids. In 1698, Mughals under Samandar Khan of Kalat State captured Kandahar again. Kandahar was regarded as important to the Mughal Empire because it was one of the gateways to India, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions. The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time

11356-593: The Tajik bandit from the village of Kalakan in northern Kabul Province. During Zahir Shah 's rule, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, Kandahar International Airport was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next to the city. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan. In

11523-556: The Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in Operation Medusa . The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards IED emplacement. In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 inmates had escaped from Sarposa prison . In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following Operation Moshtarak in

11690-462: The UK can stream content from the BBC. The BBC only allows free use of their product for users within the UK as those users have paid for a television license that funds part of the BBC. This IP address check is not foolproof as the user may be accessing the BBC website through a VPN or proxy server . Broadcasting rights can also be restricted to allowing a broadcaster rights to distribute that content for

11857-593: The United States experienced another mass shooting with the Sutherland Springs church shooting . Bernthal hoped that these two shootings and the release of the season would together help further the discussion on gun violence , with "all sides of this debate" represented in The Punisher . The season, along with the additional Punisher seasons and the other Marvel Netflix series , was removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, due to Netflix's license for

12024-400: The area. About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and Hamid Karzai . Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005. Toryalai Wesa

12191-521: The assassination city of Afghanistan after witnessing many targeted killings. In July Ahmed Wali Karzai , brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security. Soon after the Quetta Shura of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous Red Mosque in the Shahr-e Naw area of the city and a number of other people were killed by

12358-440: The attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians. On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport. On 4 May 2020 , a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for

12525-496: The audience by finding "something in them that's universal that we can all feel", such as Lector being lonely. Carrying this over to The Punisher , Lightfoot saw in Castle the idea of "a man whose family was taken from him at a young age" and that a series focused on him should be an exploration of his grief and how he responds to it. Lightfoot felt that even audience members who did not agree with Castle's actions would be able to go on

12692-540: The boundaries of Marvel's TV universe with a fresh take on the comics-derived action thriller." Metacritic , which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Summarizing the critical response to the entirety of the first season, GameSpot said reviews were "mixed." It received mixed to negative reviews from the LA Times and Salon . The Washington Post said that Netflix had finally gotten

12859-653: The capital of Afghanistan being Kabul, where the government administration is based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the supreme leader and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the de facto capital of Afghanistan , though the Taliban maintain Kabul is the capital. Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns community and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It

13026-584: The capital of the Afghan Empire . The modern name of the city derives from the name of the original city built here, Alexandria . This city (often referred to as Alexandria in Arachosia to distinguish it from other Alexandrias ) was founded after the invasion of Alexander the Great in 330 BC. The name "Alexander" in the local Pashto language is rendered as "Iskandar". It is believed that over time this transformed into "Scandar" , and eventually

13193-456: The character from the comics and instead looked to the work that was done in Daredevil defining the character. That series' depiction was what got Lightfoot interested in the character, and he wanted it to dictate this series' direction. The Punisher begins with a teaser featuring Castle killing the gang members that he believes are responsible for his family's death, which is a conclusion to

13360-514: The character's story in Daredevil . The series then jumps ahead to the character "stuck in the past and sort of crippled by this grief". The season also depicts some events from before the second season of Daredevil , which Bernthal described as being "loose with chronology"; this includes an explanation of Castle's time serving in Kandahar , which had been mentioned in Daredevil and was something that Lightfoot felt this series should address. As

13527-430: The character, and often used flashbacks or dreams featuring his family since Castle does not talk much and having constant flashbacks also represented how he is unable to stop thinking about them. Lightfoot described Castle as a metaphor for "the fact that we've been sending men to war for 15 years now and then bringing them back and expecting them to just fit back in. Clearly, that isn't what happens." Having not served in

13694-433: The chosen titles via DVDs in prepaid return envelopes. In 2007, Netflix's subscribers could watch some movies and TV shows online, directly from their homes. In 2010, Netflix launched an only-streaming plan with unlimited streaming services without DVDs. Starting from the United States, the only-streaming plan reached several countries; by 2016 more than 190 countries could use this service. In 2011, Netflix began to negotiate

13861-613: The city in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War , but withdrew in 1842. In November 1855, Dost Mohammad Khan conquered Kandahar. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War . They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront the forces of Ayub Khan , but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand . They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning

14028-432: The city, and fighting in 1993. During this time, banditry, rape, and murder became rampant in Kandahar, creating a demand for a more moral and unified alternative. This led to the rise of the talibs (students), who eventually formed the Taliban movement. By the spring of 1994, the nucleus of the Taliban emirate had begun to take shape, and that year, they launched operations to dismantle warlord militia checkpoints around

14195-442: The city. Government and Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians lost their lives. In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds. 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984. It was under siege again in April 1986. The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 inhabitants, following

14362-471: The city. The talibs gained considerable popularity and legitimacy during this period by defeating these predatory warlords. In August 1994, the Taliban, under Mohammed Omar Mujahid , captured Kandahar from commander Mullah Naqib almost without a fight and turned the city into their headquarters. The capture of Afghanistan's second-largest city marked the Taliban's transformation from a fledgling militia into an Islamic emirate, solidifying their legitimacy as

14529-467: The country. It offers classic Warner Bros. films and self-produced programs, and has won the right to exclusively air Ghibli Studios films in the United States. It is not until 45 days after the theatrical release from 2022 that the release is taking place on the platform and reached 70 million subscribers in December 2021. In September 2022, 92 million households were counted as subscribers, but since this

14696-701: The country. The 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The Canadian Forces maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar Province . The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events. NATO forces expanded

14863-426: The deaths evolve through the season until they show Castle as the one killing her to signify that he blames himself for her death, which Lightfoot felt was important relationship building between Castle and the audience rather than just gratuitous violence. Collider ranked the season as the fourth best among superhero series of 2017. Streaming television Up until the 1990s, it was not thought possible that

15030-532: The decision, as well as consumers being unhappy with their own network bandwidth being used for transmitting content to other viewers. Samsung TV has also announced their plans to provide streaming options including 3D Video on Demand through their Explore 3D service. Some streaming services incorporate digital rights management . The W3C made the controversial decision to adopt Encrypted Media Extensions due in large part to motivations to provide copy protection for streaming content. Sky Go has software that

15197-549: The early 1990s, driven in part by the divide-and-rule tactics of the communist governor-general, Nur ul-Haq Ulumi , who manipulated rival mujahideen factions against each other, and by the rampant greed within both the communist and mujahideen militias. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah 's government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai . However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in

15364-515: The empire, Chandragupta Maurya , confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by Seleucus I in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded Gandhara and Arachosia and areas south of Bagram to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism and local pagan beliefs. Inscriptions made by Emperor Ashoka,

15531-400: The exact visuals required. Because the scene, like many others throughout the season, required a dark environment the visual effects team had to work with the cinematography department to decide where the low-light should be practical and where color-grading could be used to alter a more brightly lit set given it is difficult to integrate visual effects with dark images. Conversely to this scene,

15698-588: The finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre- Indus Valley sites and with those of comparable age on the Iranian Plateau and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age. British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via radiocarbon , ceramic comparisons with

15865-460: The first few seconds of a video loading, and can be changed on the fly. This is valid for both Live and Catch-up content. Additionally, platforms can also offer content in standards such as HDR or Dolby Vision or at higher framerates which can require additional costs or subscription tiers to access. Internet television is common in most US households as of the mid-2010s. In a 2013 study by eMarketer , about one in four new televisions being sold

16032-462: The foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it " Naderabad ". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards. Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Durrani tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Initially, Ahmad Shah had trouble finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as

16199-453: The franchise "right" in a live-action in a way the prior three movies had failed to please fans. It gave the credit to the "soul" of the show and Bernthal as "one of Marvel's great casting gets" and made the show "a definitive adaptation that doubles as Netflix's best Marvel show to date." The Hollywood Reporter thought the first 13-episode season felt "at least twice the length it should be." The New York Times said "the action picks up as

16366-440: The idea of a video sharing site. Apple's iTunes service also began offering select television programs and series in 2005, available for download after direct payment. A few years later, television networks and other independent services began creating sites where shows and programs could be streamed online. Amazon Prime Video began in the United States as Amazon Unbox in 2006, but did not launch worldwide until 2016. Netflix,

16533-466: The internet. The online video platform site YouTube was launched in early 2005, allowing users to share illegally posted television programs. YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim said the inspiration for YouTube first came from Janet Jackson 's role in the 2004 Super Bowl incident , when her breast was exposed during her performance, and later from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami . Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, which led to

16700-431: The killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event. On 12 August 2021, the Taliban captured Kandahar . After days of brutal clashes with ANA soldiers retreating from the city, the Taliban were finally able to capture the city. It became the twelfth provincial capital to be seized by Taliban as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive . On 15 October 2021, four suicide bombers killed dozens at

16867-474: The latest period at the major Bronze Age city of Mundigak have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC. This fortified city became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of Arachosia . Foundation of city and Greek invasion The now known " Old Kandahar " was founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great , near

17034-421: The lead of the character's fight scenes in Daredevil by not shying away from the cost of the actual actions, feeling that showing the brutal reality of Castle's actions would better convey to the audience that "This stuff hurts, and it's not OK" rather than glossing over the violence which he felt would have been worse. He elaborated that he was unsure if the series was the most violent Marvel Netflix series, as he

17201-477: The location being fertile and historically known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates , apricots , melons and other sweet fruits. Ernst Herzfeld claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares , who re-founded the city under the name Gundopharron. However, modern historians and linguists generally find this derivation implausible. An alternative etymology derives

17368-504: The meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport . During the 1980s, Soviet–Afghan War , Kandahar city (and the province as a whole) witnessed heavy fighting as it became a centre of resistance as the mujahideen forces waged a strong guerrilla warfare against the Soviet-backed government , who tightly held on control of

17535-518: The military himself, Lightfoot spent time with the rest of the series' writers reading first-person accounts and memoirs from real-life war veterans, and the series also had consultants from the military, the Special Forces, and the CIA including one military consultant who read every script of the series and gave notes. Noting that a vocal community of United States soldiers and veterans were fans of

17702-507: The modern "Kandahar" . The change of the name from "Scandar" to Candar is mentioned by the 16th-century Portuguese historian João de Barros in his most famous work, Décadas da Ásia . A folk etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) is the origin of the word " candy ". The name "Candahar" or "Kandahar" in this form probably translates to candy area. This probably has to do with

17869-1877: The name of the city from Gandhara , the name of an ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located between the Kunar River and Abaseen River, centred on the Peshawar Valley . The name Kandahar ( Sanskrit : कंधार ) is believed to be linguistically corrupted form of a word Gandhāra ( Sanskrit : गंधार ), which was used between 2000-1700 BCE.   Macedonia 330 BC–312 BC   Seleucid Empire 312 BC–304 BC   Maurya Empire 304 BC–204 BC   Seleucid Empire 204 BC–c. 180 BC   Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 180 BC-c. 150 BC   Yavana Kingdom c. 150 BC–142 BC   Indo-Scythians 142 BC–32 BC   Parthian Empire 32 BC–19 CE   Indo-Parthian Kingdom 19–36   Kushan Empire 36–230   Sasanian Empire 230–645   Rashidun Caliphate 645–661   Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 [REDACTED] Abbasid Caliphate 750-861   Saffarid dynasty 861–977   Ghaznavid Empire 977–1175   Ghurid dynasty 1175-1207   Khwarazmian Empire 1207–1222   Mongol Empire 1222-1256 [REDACTED] Ilkhanate 1256-1347   Kart dynasty 1347-1382 [REDACTED] Timurid Empire 1382-1507 [REDACTED] Mughal Empire 1507–1649 [REDACTED] Safavid Empire 1649-1711 [REDACTED] Hotak dynasty 1711–1738 [REDACTED] Afsharid Empire 1738–1747   Durrani Empire 1747–1818 [REDACTED] Principality of Kandahar 1818-1839 [REDACTED] United Kingdom ( Company Raj ) 1839-1842 [REDACTED] Principality of Kandahar 1842-1855 [REDACTED]   Afghanistan 1855–present Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that

18036-414: The neighbouring Helmand Province . In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency. In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on

18203-621: The old and new systems, subscribers have set-top boxes or other customer-premises equipment that communicates directly over company-owned or dedicated leased lines with central-office servers. Packets never travel over the public Internet, so the television provider can guarantee enough local bandwidth for each customer's needs. The Internet protocol is a cheap, standardized way to enable two-way communication and simultaneously provide different data (e.g., TV-show files, email, Web browsing) to different customers. This supports DVR-like features for time shifting television: for example, to catch up on

18370-463: The paid plan could be accessed via computers, mobile devices, and connected televisions. In 2019, The Walt Disney Company became the major owner of Hulu. The platform has bundle deals where customers can subscribe to both Hulu and Disney +. Max is a streaming service released by Warner Bros. Discovery. The platform was released on May 27, 2020 in the United States, and within the first five months of launching, had amassed 8 million subscribers across

18537-652: The passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India. In October 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom , the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf . These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including Arab families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in

18704-426: The platform had 22 million paid subscribers. The domain name of YouTube was bought and activated by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in the beginning of 2005. YouTube launched later that year as an online video sharing and social media platform. The video platform became popular among the audience thanks to a short video, called Lazy Sunday , uploaded by Saturday Night Live in December 2005. The SNL's video

18871-442: The playing field," giving viewers from marginalized communities, and representation of their communities, "equal power." Many providers of Internet television services exist—including conventional television stations that have taken advantage of the Internet as a way to continue showing television shows after they have been broadcast, often advertised as "on-demand" and "catch-up" services. Today, almost every major broadcaster around

19038-604: The point of causing issues for some networks. It was reported in February 2014 that Verizon Fios is having issues coping with the demand placed on their network infrastructure. Until long-term bandwidth issues are worked out and regulation such at net neutrality Internet Televisions push to HDTV may start to hinder growth. Aereo was launched in March 2012 in New York City (and subsequently stopped from broadcasting in June 2014). It streamed network TV only to New York customers over

19205-417: The popular streaming service was referred to as Amazon Unbox. Amazon Prime Video was created due to the development of Amazon Prime , which is a paid service that includes free shipping of different types of goods. Amazon Prime Video is available in approximately 200 countries around the world. Each year, Amazon invests in the production of films and TV series that are streamed as Amazon originals. Apple TV+

19372-507: The product. With the advent of broadband Internet connections, multiple streaming providers have come onto the market in the last couple of years. The main providers are Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. Some of these providers such as Hulu advertise and charge a monthly fee. Other such as Netflix and Amazon charge users a monthly fee and have no commercials. Netflix is the largest provider with more than 217 million subscribers. The rise of internet TV has resulted in cable companies losing customers to

19539-530: The production of original programming, starting with the series House of Cards . Paramount+ is a streaming service that is owned by the Paramount Global Media Company. The streaming service was launched on October 28, 2014, and was known as CBS All Access originally. At the time of the release, the platform focused primarily on streaming programs from local CBS stations as well as complete access to all CBS network content. In 2016

19706-426: The realistic tone of the series, which does not feature any superpowers, the visual effects department had to work even harder than usual to ensure their effects were believable, with a focus on creating "gunplay, knifeplay, explosions and other real world effects." They preferred to augment practical effects rather than start from scratch to help with realism as well as the series' budget and schedule. As an example of

19873-698: The reason for the name change is not clear. Mongols Kandahar was besieged by a Mongol army in 1221, although Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, Möngke Khan granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart of the Kart dynasty . However, the city is mentioned as being under Chagatai control in 1260–61; Kandahar didn't come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318,

20040-422: The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements known so far. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km (17 mi) southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from

20207-402: The release date, while fans anticipating the series would watch it "whenever it appears" regardless of when the date is announced. Polygon ' s Susana Polo felt Marvel and Netflix would announce the date at their scheduled New York Comic Con 2017 panel in October, as the convention had been used in previous years to reveal "breaking fall Marvel/Netflix news". It was soon reported that this

20374-482: The release of the season "was the right decision" out of respect for the victims, with Lightfoot saying there was no reason to go ahead with the panel if it was going to upset "even one person involved" with the shooting. Moore had initially felt the season would not be released at all once the panel was cancelled. Between the Las Vegas shooting and subsequent delaying of the season, and the eventual November 17 release,

20541-443: The right amount of story to fill the 13 episodes. Lightfoot had a loose idea of what the "journey of Season 1" would be when he joined the series, and this was fleshed-out and altered in the writers room throughout work on the season. Executive producer Jeph Loeb said the season would ask the questions "Who is Frank? What is Frank going to do? And who's going to try and stop Frank?" Lightfoot chose not to adapt any specific version of

20708-584: The same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age pottery , copper and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the Seistan , southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania , 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, Smithsonian Institution , 1971 – 76). Stylistically

20875-415: The scene was 90 percent digital, with the environment between Castle and his target created entirely by the visual effects department. So that Moore could portray amputee Curtis Hoyle , Fuse had to digitally replace his leg in several shots. This involved Moore wearing a green sleeve over his leg and Fuse replacing it with a stump. The company also had to recreate the background behind Moore's actual leg which

21042-478: The season progresses, but The Punisher never quite gets in touch with the visceral roots of its material." Esquire called the first season "a compelling and complex horror story about the military." The New York Times said that although the action picks up later in the first season, the slow pace made it less pulpy and more of a procedural thriller with a moody and psychological approach, particularly for its focus on PTSD. Variety also wrote positively of both

21209-737: The selection of winners for the Streamy Awards . In 2009, the Los Angeles Web Series Festival was founded. Several other festivals and award shows have been dedicated solely to web content, including the Indie Series Awards and the Vancouver Web Series Festival . In 2013, in response to the shifting of the soap opera All My Children from broadcast to streaming television, a new category for "Fantastic web-only series" in

21376-469: The series also cast real-life war veterans as extras and supporting cast for scenes such as support group meetings. Mahome, whose father served in the military, found this to be a powerful experience and helpful for his acting in the series. Stephanie Maslansky, who served as costume designer for the first seasons of Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , and Iron Fist , had the choice between designing for The Defenders or for The Punisher due to

21543-534: The series ending and Disney regaining the rights. The season became available on Disney+ in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand on March 16, ahead of its debut in Disney+'s other markets by the end of 2022. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating with an average rating of 6.70/10 based on 79 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "A rocky start can't keep The Punisher from pushing

21710-453: The series. Vanity Fair wrote a less positive review, saying the show was as "psychologically confused as its antihero," as the writers had Castle target people for questionable reasons but portrayed him as justified. Vanity Fair wrote that "What the series neglects to examine, of course, is the fact that the Punisher is just as wicked as the villains he targets." Vulture described the show's attempts to "humanize and deepen" Castle beyond

21877-425: The series. Philip also felt the addition of Moss-Bachrach was "curious", and said "at least [the series is] a swing for the fences from a TV studio that tends to play it astoundingly safe." Scott Mendelson of Forbes noted that the gun violence sequences featured were mainly "flashbacks with military men doing military things in full fatigues or scenes of bad guys shooting at not-so-bad guys with heavy gunfire", which

22044-485: The show and Bernthal's "seamless" performance, saying that "It's difficult to imagine better casting than Bernthal, who communicates so fluently with impassive silences, and is convincing both when he is being terribly violent and especially gentle." However, the review said the show took some time to show that it "transcends what it appears to be" at first, through Steve Lightfoot 's "sharp, conscious storytelling." It also praised what it called anti-violence themes throughout

22211-404: The side of NATO forces, it did show that the militants are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province. By 2011, Kandahar became known as

22378-560: The site of Kandahar, probably as early as c. 1000–750 BC, and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great had laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar (which is in the southern section of Kandahar city) in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἀραχωσίας ( Alexandria of Arachosia ). Historically, this province

22545-636: The site of the ancient city of Mundigak (established around 3000 BC era). Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the Medes followed by the Achaemenids until the arrival of the Macedonians. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the Pakhtas , an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe, who might have been among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns . Kandahar was named Alexandria ,

22712-483: The soundtrack of the trailer. The Punisher had its red carpet premiere on November 6, 2017, in New York City at the 34th Street AMC Loews theatre. The first season of The Punisher was released on November 17, 2017, on the streaming service Netflix, worldwide. In July 2016, Netflix COO Ted Sarandos had stated that The Punisher would not debut until 2018 at the earliest, following The Defenders ' August 18, 2017 release, but in October 2016 Marvel confirmed

22879-555: The start of production on the series and the latter's involvement, while Bernthal presented exclusive footage from the series at San Diego Comic-Con 2017. A teaser was revealed on Netflix in August 2017 after the credits of the final episode of The Defenders . Also in the month, the series' Twitter account revealed the episode titles as Morse code messages. In September 2017, the series' Instagram account released viral videos made to look like security footage, while episodic photos and

23046-471: The streaming service created original content that could only be found by using the platform. As the network continued to expand with its content, the service decided to rebrand themselves and took the name Paramount+, taking its name from Paramount Pictures film studio. The network since expanded to Latin America, Europe and Australia. Peacock is a streaming service owned and operated by Peacock TV, which

23213-593: The television market after 2010 and continue to partner with new providers to bring streaming video to even more users. As of 2015, smart TVs are the only type of middle to high-end television being produced. Amazon's version of a digital media player, Amazon Fire TV , was not offered to the public until 2014. Access to television programming has evolved from computer and television access to include mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers . Corresponding apps for mobile devices started to become available via app stores in 2008, but they grew in popularity in

23380-716: The tone of the series. Filming began on October 3, 2016, in Brooklyn, New York, under the working title Crime . Locations for the production included Greenpoint, Brooklyn , the Williamsburg Bridge , Columbus Circle and Central Park West , Cortlandt Alley , Circle Line Downtown cruises, the Manhattan Family Court building, Long Island City , Grand Ferry Park in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn , Sunnyside, Queens , Pulaski Bridge ,

23547-476: The trailer "intense, super bloody, and has [me] INCREDIBLY pumped for the show's premiere." She added that "if this trailer is any indication, The Punisher is definitely going to live up to fan expectations". Ashley felt the inclusion of " One " by Metallica in the trailer "helps paint Frank as a badass unlike any we've seen on the Marvel Netflix shows so far." Cooper Hood, writing for Screen Rant felt

23714-481: The trailer would "only increase the fever for" the series despite it not yet having a release date, with it more closely fitting the "mold" of the character than the more cryptic videos previously released. He also found it "well-cut" to the beat of the song, which he praised as "amplifying the intensity". By the end of September, Netflix had updated their viral website for the New York Bulletin to include

23881-407: The violent "monster" he was in the original comics as "unpersuasive," and described a conflict between the showing wanting to be both The Best Years of Our Lives and Death Wish IV : The Crackdown at the same time. Lightfoot defended the amount of violence in the series, reiterating that he did not feel that it was any more violent than Daredevil , that he believed it would be worse to not show

24048-460: The violent repercussions of Castle's actions because that would be "flippant" and not convey the real-life cost of the violence, and that Castle never "just blithely walk[s] away" from the violence as it always takes a physical or emotional toll on him. This extended to the repeated depictions of the death of Castle's wife, which Lightfoot did not think was in bad taste because it was about visualizing Castle's feelings, something he would not talk about;

24215-742: The walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Eid Gah Gate on the north, the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east. At its peak, Ahmad Shah's empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Punjab in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from

24382-407: The work Fuse did during fight sequences, Anderson discussed the scene where Russo and his men attack Micro's basement. Though practical prop weapons were used for the fight, Fuse had to augment the action with computer generated blood, knives, and muzzle flashes, as well as a computer generated head that is blown apart by a shotgun. The sequence was thoroughly storyboarded and pre-visualized to plan out

24549-445: The world is operating an Internet television platform. Examples include the BBC, which introduced the BBC iPlayer on 25 June 2008 as an extension to its "RadioPlayer" and already existing streamed video-clip content, and Channel 4 that launched 4oD ("4 on Demand") (now All 4) in November 2006 allowing users to watch recently shown content. Most Internet television services allow users to view content free of charge; however, some content

24716-433: The writer's room, which included both men and women, had "a lot of fun" with this idea. They also wanted the character to be of Middle Eastern descent and be as big of a patriot as Castle and an action hero in her own right. This character became Dinah Madani . Lightfoot did not want the "spiderweb" of supporting characters in the series to be "sidekicks" to Castle, and instead have "their own narrative and their own story that

24883-436: The year 2000, a television broadcast could be compressed to 2   Mbit/s, but most consumers still had little opportunity to obtain greater than 1   Mbit/s connection speeds. Streaming services started as a result of two major technological developments: MPEG ( motion-compensated DCT ) video compression and asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) data communication . The first worldwide live-streaming event

25050-543: Was a radio live broadcast of a baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees streamed by ESPN SportsZone on September 5, 1995. During the mid-2000s, the streaming media was based on UDP, whereas the basis of the majority of the Internet was HTTP and content delivery networks (CDNs). In 2007, HTTP-based adaptive streaming was introduced by Move Networks. This new technology would be

25217-422: Was a strong contrast to the first trailer. Mendelson felt this shift in the marketing strategy could have been in response to the Las Vegas shooting. TechCrunch 's Darrell Etherington agreed with Mendelson, noting how the trailer "plays up Castle's motivations and the more human side of the story", while still looking "gritty and dark, [and] Bernthal's portrayal looking as strong as ever." Etherington also criticized

25384-573: Was announced as the composer for The Punisher , after previously composing for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 . In order to "get into the dark corners of the Punisher's mind," Bates played "more of a broken blues" guitar, which was augmented with talkbox effects and other "guitar noises", along with guitar-vol and melodica. On this style, Bates said, "The rough edges and broken nature of [music like this] leaves

25551-469: Was announced, including subscribers to the HBO channel, it is expected that the actual population of Max alone will be much smaller. Netflix , founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, is a media streaming and video rental in 1997. Two years later, Netflix was offering the audience the possibility of an online subscription service. Subscribers could select movies and TV shows on Netflix's website and receive

25718-528: Was appointed Governor of the province by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after Rahmatullah Raufi 's four-month rule. In 2002, Kandahar International Airport started to be used by members of the United States armed forces and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). NATO began training the newly formed Afghan National Police and provided security responsibility of the city. The military of Afghanistan , backed by NATO forces, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of

25885-573: Was cancelled following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting . A second season was ordered in December 2017. By January 2016, ahead of the Daredevil season two release, Netflix was in "very early development" on a spin-off series titled The Punisher , and was looking for a showrunner . The series would be centered on Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher , and was described as a stand-alone series apart from those leading up to The Defenders crossover event. That April, Netflix officially ordered

26052-458: Was considered a negative activity. Broadcasting rights (also called Streaming rights in this case) vary from country to country and even within provinces of countries. These rights govern the distribution of copyrighted content and media and allow the sole distribution of that content at any one time. An example of content only being aired in certain countries is BBC iPlayer. The BBC checks a user's IP address to make sure that only users located in

26219-646: Was established eventually between the Greeks and the Mauryas (Indians). The city eventually became part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD). While the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent . The founder of

26386-484: Was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, Nader Shah . In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now Old Kandahar , which was held by Hussain Hotak and his Ghilji tribes. In the meantime, Nader Shah freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani ) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out

26553-464: Was indeed the case, with Netflix planning a surprise "drop" release of the season after the New York Comic Con panel, mimicking a strategy from the music industry where an artist's album is released "with little or no fanfare". However, Marvel and Netflix decided to delay the release of the season to later in 2017 following the Las Vegas shooting and subsequent cancelling of the panel. Two weeks later,

26720-414: Was not broadcast on TV, therefore people looked for it on Google by typing "SNL rap video," "Lazy Sunday SNL," or "Chronicles of Narnia SNL." The first result of searches was a link video on YouTube, which was the beginning of sharing videos on YouTube. Because of its popularity, YouTube had some issues caused by its bandwidth expenses. In 2006, Google bought Youtube, and after some months the video platform

26887-487: Was often the most difficult part, such as when he is getting out of bed and realistic-looking digital cloth needed to match with the actual sheets that were on set. Additionally, visual effects were used to augment cement in the sequence where people are thrown into it. The special effects department created a mixture to look like cement for use while filming the scene, but it ultimately did not look realistic on camera and had to be changed digitally. In April 2017, Tyler Bates

27054-713: Was revealed to be portraying Farah Madani, Dinah's mother, in a recurring role for the season. Also recurring in the season are Jordan Mahome as Isaac Lange, Kelli Barrett as Maria Castle , Aidan Pierce Brennan as Frank Castle Jr. , Nicolette Pierini as Lisa Castle , Ripley Sobo as Leo Lieberman, Kobi Frumer as Zach Lieberman, and Tony Plana as Rafael Hernandez. Rob Morgan and Royce Johnson reprise their roles from previous Marvel Netflix series as Turk Barrett and Brett Mahoney , respectively. Geoffrey Cantor and Clancy Brown reprise their respective Daredevil roles as Mitchell Ellison and Ray Schoonover . In addition to several actors portraying war veterans, including Mahome,

27221-719: Was ruled by other Timurid governors. Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. Guru Nanak , the founder of Sikhism , is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his important journey between Hindustan and Mecca in Arabia. Mughal and Safavid Era Tamerlane's descendant, Babur , the founder of the Mughal Empire , annexed Kandahar in 1508. In 1554, Babur's son, Humayun , handed it over to

27388-420: Was simply taking the level of violence he saw depicted in Daredevil as a baseline for this series, and that it is important to remember that "a lot of what he's doing is wrong. We have to let the audience lose him at times and let him win them back. To just wholeheartedly be behind him wouldn't be right". Despite this, Lightfoot wanted to convey the character's feelings and thoughts to help the audience understand

27555-561: Was the most important thing to them". The main cast for the season includes Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher , Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman / Micro , Ben Barnes as Billy Russo , Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani , Daniel Webber as Lewis Wilson, Paul Schulze as William Rawlins , Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle , Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein, Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman, and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page . Bernthal and Woll both reprise their roles from Daredevil . In August 2017, Shohreh Aghdashloo

27722-731: Was the second-largest engine search in the world. In the 1990s, the practice of watching entire seasons in a short amount of time emerged with the introduction of the DVD box. Media-marathoning consists of watching at least one season of a TV show in a week or less, watching three or more films from the same series in a week or less, or reading three or more books from the same series in a month or less. The term "binge-watching" arrived with streaming TV, when Netflix launched its first original production, House of Cards, and started marketing this process of watching TV series episode after episode in 2013. COVID-19 gave another connotation to binge-watching, which

27889-649: Was unveiled in January 2015. DirecTV , another satellite television provider launched their own streaming service, DirecTV Stream , in 2016. Sky launched a similar streaming service in the UK called Now . In 2013, Video on demand website Netflix earned the first Primetime Emmy Award nominations for original streaming television at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards . Three of its series, House of Cards , Arrested Development , and Hemlock Grove , earned nominations that year. On July 13, 2015, cable company Comcast announced an HBO plus broadcast TV package at

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