21/05/2026

LYFE THURSDAY | MAY 21, 2026

25

TV SHOW REVIEW

Hell breaks out o Daredevil: Born Again returns with sharper stakes as Fisk-ruled New York spirals into chaos, but retains key problem from previous season

Ű BY MARK MATHEN VICTOR

F OLLOWING a rather comical end to the first season, Daredevil: Born Again ’s second outing is far more confident in its storytelling and more robust in how it expands its tiny corner of Hell’s Kitchen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Now that New York City is under the control of its new mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF), Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) disappear from the public eye as they are hunted by AVTF, as Matt shifts his fights away from the courtroom and the gavel to the streets with his fists as Daredevil. As the primary target of Wilson, Daredevil works towards corralling the necessary allies to bring down the entire Fisk administration who are using the city’s free port to smuggle contraband into the city and country, including military-grade weapons. Along the way, old allies such as

Wilson’s final bout of rage surpasses his violence in the previous season and the old Netflix series.

Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) return, while temporary alliances are forged, even with the likes of Bullseye (Wilson Bethel). Rage and redemption Born Again ’s second outing is very much a tight-rope production, from start to end. Flourishing under Scardapane’s return as the showrunner, the season takes the concept of “balance” with religious zeal. It can be seen with how Scardapane balances the development of its leads, the action to-drama ratio to how this season’s great action filmmaking threads the fine line between believable and comic book-level nonsense. Matt’s anger shifts from small waves to a roaring tsunami, yet the writing keeps him wedged to the character’s Catholicism as

Cox continues to prove he was born to play Matt and Daredevil. – PICS FROM DISNEY+

Ritter continues to steal every scene she is in as Jessica.

the exact problem the previous season and the other seasons of Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , Iron Fist , The Punisher and The Defenders had while those now-dead series were at Netflix – Born Again still feels disconnected from the rest of the MCU. Despite everything that happens in the season, certain more famous street-level superheroes known to live and operate in New York City make zero appearances, again. On top of that, there is the unexplained disappearance of Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). These are minor grievances, of course, but considering it is a problem that has existed since Netflix’s Daredevil debuted back in 2015, it is worth addressing. With the MCU still being in the dire state that it is in, a third season of Born Again that fixes this will be a sight for sore eyes.

the helplessness of facing Wilson continues to build in the background. The bald, overweight criminal turned-mayor screentime moves away from his overt sense of violence towards dirty politicking, before that too explodes from a long-overdue death that results in a final episode where the mayor punches innocents to death in an obvious parallel to the Jan 6 US Capitol attack. The season also does justice to side characters without keeping the lens of the camera purely focused on Daredevil and Wilson. Bullseye receives plenty of not just amazing action sequences but also an episode almost entirely for him. Ritter’s Jessica gets more than a few scenes and action sequences to tease a meatier role in the third season. Trapped in creative isolation The only real issue with the season is

0 Showrunner: Dario Scardapane 0 Cast: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Margarita Levieva, Matthew Lillard, Tony Dalton, Michael Gandolfini, Wilson Bethel and Krysten Ritter E-VALUE 8 ACTING 8 PLOT 7

Matt (left) and Karen work to dismantle the Fisk mayoral administration while living incognito.

As Fast & Furious turns 25, Vin Diesel reveals four new TV series A television series based on the blockbuster Fast & Furious movie franchise is being developed for the Peacock streaming service, NBCUniversal recently said.

the fans want more,” Diesel said, noting longtime viewers are eager to see the continuation of the franchise’s legacy characters and storylines. Diesel praised Donna Langley, NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios chairman and chief content officer who oversees film and television programming. “I had to wait until it was right. It became right when Langley started to oversee it all. That’s when I knew the integrity of the characters, the international appeal and what makes us all feel like family would be protected in the TV space,” the 58-year-old actor said. The final Fast & Furious film is scheduled to debut on March 17, 2028. – Reuters

ever being considered a classic. That concern has since been put to rest – the Cannes Film Festival marked the high-speed franchise’s 25th anniversary with a midnight screening, honouring it as a classic. Diesel attended the Cannes screening alongside several of his co-stars from the films. Since the first Fast & Furious movie in 2001, the 11 films in the series have brought in more than US$7 billion (RM27 billion) at global box offices. The celebration of the franchise extends well beyond the screen. A new Fast & Furious roller coaster is set to open at Universal Studios Hollywood this summer with another attraction planned for Universal’s Orlando theme parks. “For the last decade, we realised

Vin Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto in the films, announced the series was coming to the small screen at a presentation to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall. At the event, Diesel said four TV shows were in the works. An NBCUniversal press release distributed later in the day listed only one Fast & Furious show in development. The actor said he was initially hesitant to commit to sequels for Fast & Furious , fearing continuing the story about a group of street racers might prevent the original film from

Diesel plays Dominic Toretto in the films. – REUTERSPIC