The Punisher Is Coming To TV, With A Tweak Or Two

A “put pilot” deal means that a broadcaster has signed up to screen a TV pilot or pay the producers a penalty. It suggests a certain amount of confidence in a show.

And it’s on these terms that The Punisher is heading to Fox. I’m not sure fans of the comic will necessarily share the network’s confidence, however.

Deadline describe the new show’s premise like this:

An hour-long procedural with a Marvel signature and a new take on one of the comic book giant’s iconic characters, Frank Castle, a rising star detective with the New York Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for those the system has failed.

So he might still be a war vet, though that doesn’t sound likely; and he’s now an up-and-comer cop?

I guess we’ll have to wait and see why.

The show has been devised by Ed Bernero creator of Third Watch, writer on Criminal Minds and, more lately, the man behind a TV movie called Partners which, to be honest, is little more than a page on IMDB to me. If nothing else, Bernero is steeped in the conventions of crime procedurals. Perhaps he’s just rejigged Frank Castle to make him more familiar and comfortable? I can see that going down well…

The Punisher as I knew him was very much rooted in the 80s, and the anxieties and social structures of that era. I could probably fix this by reading some more recent comics, though I am interested to see how – if at all – the TV show tries to make the set-up timely and relevant.