As Marvel Studios heads towards its MCU-culminatingAvengers: Infinity Waron the big screen next year, Marvel’s flagship small-screen effort willalsobe sticking around. Indeed, ABC has announced thatAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.has been renewed for Season 5 despite the show’s recent struggle in the ratings. The show has dropped each season ratings-wise, but was hitting some lows in Season 4 as it hovered around 2-2.5 million viewers. At the same time, those that had stuck with the series have praised the show’s creative upswing, with this most recent season following theGothamroute and breaking its story into three distinct chapters: Ghost Rider, LMD, and Agents of Hydra. This allowed the series to move away from a traditional “Big Bad” arc and focus on more contained stories that didn’t necessitate a lot of wheel-spinning.
And whileAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.only averaged 2.4 million weekly viewers and a 0.7 demo rating this season, ithasenjoyed a 129% boost on DVR playback and still ranks solidly amongst some other ABC dramas.
The series was created byJoss Whedon,Jed Whedon, andMaurissa Tancharoenas Marvel’s first major foray into TV in the MCU era. Joss helped get the series off the ground, but Jed and Maurissa have been the show’s day-to-day showrunners ever since that debut season. And while Marvel Movies and Marvel TV have now been somewhat split from a corporate level, Marvel TV—under the tutelage ofJeph Loeb—has been expanding its slate considerably over the last couple of years.
AfterAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they attempted a prequel seriesAgent Carteron ABC that only lasted two seasons. But Marvel TV found greater success on Netflix with an interconnected, self-contained series of shows likeDaredevil,Jessica Jones, andLuke Cagethat are all leading up toThe Defenders. Marvel TV has also been teaming up with 20th Century Fox on the ambitiousX-MenseriesLegionon FX as well as the upcoming, more traditional FoxX-MenseriesThe Gifted, which just got picked up to series. And then this fall, ABC has its high-profile debut of theS.H.I.E.L.D.spinoff seriesInhumans, which will first premiere in IMAX theaters.
In short, the superhero TV show business is a-boomin’, and ABC has ensured that the foundational seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.will be sticking around for at least one more year. To catch up on all the recent renewals and cancellations,check out Collider’s TV Lifeline.
