Scripted series · Netflix
Marvel's Luke Cage
Hero is your word, not mine.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Mike Colter
Luke Cage
26 eps
Alfre Woodard
Mariah Dillard
26 eps
Simone Missick
Misty Knight
26 eps
Theo Rossi
Hernan ‘Shades’ Alvarez
26 eps
Mustafa Shakir
John 'Bushmaster' McIver
13 eps
Rosario Dawson
Claire Temple
11 eps
Gabrielle Dennis
Tilda Johnson
13 eps
Sonja Sohn
Captain Betty Audrey
4 eps
Frankie Faison
Henry 'Pop' Hunter
2 eps
Jaiden Kaine
Zip
9 eps
Ron Cephas Jones
Bobby Fish
13 eps
Chaz Lamar Shepherd
Raymond 'Piranha' Jones
6 eps
Stephen Rider
Blake Tower
2 eps
Rob Morgan
Turk Barrett
3 eps
Kevin Mambo
Sheldon Shaw
9 eps
Sahr Ngaujah
Anansi
8 eps
Heather Simms
Auntie Ingrid
7 eps
Frank Whaley
Rafael Scarfe
7 eps
Michael Kostroff
Dr. Noah Burstein
4 eps
Lynn Marocola
NYPD Police Officer (uncredited)
2 eps
Antonique Smith
Detective Nandi Tyler
8 eps
Dawn-Lyen Gardner
Megan McLaren
4 eps
Jacob Vargas
Domingo Colon
6 eps
Brian Marc
Wilfredo 'Chico' Diaz
3 eps
Thomas Q. Jones
Comanche
8 eps
Karen Pittman
Inspector Priscilla Ridley
12 eps
Manny Perez
Lieutenant Perez
3 eps
Danny Johnson
Ben Donovan
7 eps
R. Marcos Taylor
Amos
3 eps
Clifton Cutrary
Teenage Carl Lucas
3 eps
Clark Jackson
Damon Boone
3 eps
Justin Swain
Detective Mark Bailey
15 eps
Jeremiah Craft
D.W. Griffith
12 eps
John Clarence Stewart
Alex Wesley
13 eps
Deborah Ayorinde
Candace
6 eps
Jared Kemp
Teenage Willis Stryker
3 eps
Sonia Braga
Soledad
3 eps
Lee Sellars
Sergeant Jacob 'Jake' Smith
3 eps
PJ Marshall
ESU Lieutenant Mario Green
3 eps
Clem Cheung
Jin Lin
3 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Marvel's Luke Cage actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Marvel's Luke Cage reads strongest on Bingeability, Character Depth and Serialized.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Given superstrength and durability by a sabotaged experiment, a wrongly accused man escapes prison to become a superhero for hire.
The run
Seasons
2 seasons · 26 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
201613 episodes
7.3IMDbAs the bulletproof defender of Harlem, Luke Cage battles corrupt politicians, ruthless gangsters and demons from his own past.
Best episode · S01E04 Step in the Arena
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
201813 episodes
7.0IMDbAs his fame and responsibility soar, Luke Cage finds his life upended by a mysterious newcomer with powers of his own -- and a plan to take over Harlem.
Best episode · S02E10 The Main Ingredient
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E10
The Main Ingredient
Danny Rand insists on helping Luke hunt for Bushmaster -- the Iron Fist way. Mariah sets out to reclaim her empire. Misty pursues a traitor.
- Directed by Andy Goddard
- Written by Akela Cooper
S01E04
Step in the Arena
As he rescues a victim of Cottonmouth's vengeance, Luke remembers his earlier life and the conspiracy that led to his superhuman strength.
- Directed by Vincenzo Natali
- Written by Charles Murray
S01E03
Who's Gonna Take the Weight?
In the aftermath of a chaotic event at a favorite Harlem hangout, Luke heeds the call to action -- and hits Cottonmouth where he'll feel it most.
- Directed by Guillermo Navarro
- Written by Matt Owens
S01E11
Now You're Mine
In one bold move, a friend from his past puts Luke on the defensive, Misty in dire straits, and Harlem's safety in jeopardy.
- Directed by George Tillman Jr.
S01E07
Manifest
Mariah's political career comes under fire, and Cottonmouth picks up information that could put Luke on the run.
- Directed by Andy Goddard
- Written by Akela Cooper
S01E12
Soliloquy of Chaos
Misty digs deeper for the truth as the neighborhood's power players throw the city into confusion.
- Directed by Phil Abraham
- Written by Akela Cooper
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S02E01
Soul Brother #1
- Directed by Lucy Liu
- Written by Cheo Hodari Coker
S02E02
Straighten It Out
- Directed by Steph Green
- Written by Akela Cooper
S02E06
The Basement
- Directed by Millicent Shelton
- Written by Aïda Mashaka Croal
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
Cheo Hodari Coker
Showrunner
Stan Lee
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Jim Chory
Executive producer
Jeph Loeb
Executive producer
Akela Cooper
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Ian Stokes
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Charles Murray
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Aïda Mashaka Croal
Writer
Matt Owens
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jason Horwitch
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Stan LeeExecutive Producer
- Cheo Hodari CokerExecutive Producer
- Akela CooperProducer
- Jim ChoryExecutive Producer
- Jeph LoebExecutive Producer
Writing
- Cheo Hodari CokerWriter
- Akela CooperWriter
- Ian StokesWriter
- Charles MurrayWriter
- Aïda Mashaka CroalWriter
- Matt OwensWriter
Direction
- Sam MillerDirector
- Paul McGuiganDirector
- Stephen SurjikDirector
- Tom ShanklandDirector
- George Tillman Jr.Director
- Guillermo NavarroDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Disney PlusStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
Marvel's Daredevil
2015
Moral complexity · Large-scale spectacle
Hawkeye
2021
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Daredevil: Born Again
2025
Moral complexity · Large-scale spectacle
Marvel's The Defenders
2017
Crime storytelling · Large-scale spectacle
Marvel's The Punisher
2017
Moral complexity · Large-scale spectacle
Marvel's Runaways
2017
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Marvel's Iron Fist
2017
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Arrow
2012
Moral complexity · Large-scale spectacle
Marvel's Inhumans
2017
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
2013
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Secret Invasion
2023
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Spider-Noir
2026
Moral complexity · Similar storytelling style
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Arrow
2012
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
FBI
2018
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Castle
2009
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Reacher
2022
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
Lucifer
2016
Another invented world built with the same seriousness — start at episode one.
Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir
2015
For the nights you want momentum rather than melancholy.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation