# Marvel's Luke Cage (2016)

> A wrongly accused man with unbreakable skin becomes a Harlem hero for hire, taking on the criminal power brokers of his neighborhood.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/55305

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 26
- Episode runtime: 46 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: action, crime, drama
- Created by: Cheo Hodari Coker
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Mike Colter, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Mustafa Shakir, Rosario Dawson, Gabrielle Dennis, Sonja Sohn
- TMDB rating: 7.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322314/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, soulful, confrontational, stylish

## What critics say

Audiences rate Marvel's Luke Cage as a positive, distinctive superhero series whose music, Black culture themes and lead performance stand out, though its second season and finale drew criticism.

## Synopsis

Marvel's Luke Cage (2016-2018) is a Netflix Marvel superhero crime drama created by Cheo Hodari Coker. Mike Colter plays Luke Cage, a wrongly accused man given unbreakable skin by a sabotaged experiment, who escapes prison and becomes a hero for hire in Harlem. Alfre Woodard plays Mariah Dillard, a city councilwoman with her own ambitions, while Simone Missick plays Misty Knight, a detective who becomes his ally, and Theo Rossi plays Hernan Shades Alvarez, a criminal rival. The engine of the show is Cage's reluctance to be a symbol while local crime bosses and political operators keep pulling him into their turf wars. Across two seasons of thirteen episodes each, the show plays as a serialized street-level saga, with each episode weaving case work into a larger story about power in the neighborhood. Set in present-day Harlem, it foregrounds a soul and hip hop soundtrack, a warm sense of community, and a gritty, confrontational tone. Fans of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Black Dynamite will find resonance in its blaxploitation nods, its urban grounding and its focus on a hero who answers to his neighbors.

## Shows like Marvel's Luke Cage

- [Marvel's Inhumans (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/60280)
- [Marvel's Iron Fist (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/55306)
- [Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/35359)
- [Godfather of Harlem (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/68156)
- [Batwoman (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/75724)
- [Supacell (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/120150)
- [Marvel's Cloak & Dagger (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/58397)
- [Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/1319)
- [Helstrom (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/75524)
- [Echo (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/101484)

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