The Walt Disney Co. and Netflix have announced a new partnership that will see four new Marvel TV series arrive on the Internet TV network beginning in 2015.

The groundbreaking deal is Marvel’s most ambitious foray yet into live-action television and calls for the studio to develop four serialized live-action programs based around Marvels superheroes that will lead up to a mini-series event.

The first 13-episode series will be focused on the superhero character Daredevil, followed by three additional series that will release over multiple years featuring Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. The partnership will culminate in a The Defenders mini-series event that will re-imagine the dream team of self-sacrificing heroes.

The programming will be produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Television Studios.

"This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel's brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty," says Alan Fine, president, Marvel Entertainment. "This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what's sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure."

This new deal follows on an existing movie distribution partnership between the two companies which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, will make Netflix the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm. 

"Marvel’s movies, such as Iron Man and Marvel’s The Avengers, are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels," says Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, Netflix. "With ‘House of Cards' and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution, and we're thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude."