Director S.J. Clarkson will direct the first two episodes of The Defenders. Clarkson has worked on Jessica Jones, Vinyl, and Orange is the New Black. The Netflix Marvel shows have generally run about 13 episodes per season. The shorter episode count is probably also a decision that gets the primary cast members back to their own shows more rapidly. The Defenders is set to debut on Netflix on January 8 at 8 p.m. ET on January 25 at 8pm ET on the network network.”]
Source: https://gizmodo.com/marvels-defenders-tv-show-will-only-be-eight-episodes-l-1788339142