Culturess
Fansided

How Long Will “Marvel’s Agents Of SHIELD” Survive?

By Christina Roberts

facebooktwitterreddit

Entering its fourth season, many thought “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” would be one and done. But might it end soon?

More from Culturess

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is the last remaining live-action network television show for Marvel Studios. They cut ties with Marvel’s Agent Carter that bridged the mid-season gap for Agents of SHIELD after only two short seasons. Marvel’s Most Wanted, the spin-off with Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter, failed to even make the schedule. And I doubt most people even remember that Marvel’s Damage Control—a show based on the janitorial staff who literally clean up behind superhero-made disasters—was even considered for a put pilot. (That’s the kind that becomes a one off special if the show doesn’t get picked up.)

It seems like a matter of time before Agents of SHIELD follows suit.

But how has this show survived for so long?

Don’t look for stellar ratings as an answer. While the premiere of the pilot at San Diego Comic Con in 2013 hyped everyone up for the show, it failed to deliver on its premise. It felt flat, feeling more like a standard procedural show with standard characters than anything that belonged in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And then Captain America: The Winter Soldier premiered, and Agents of SHIELD turned itself upside-down. Our least-favorite wooden character Grant Ward was revealed as Hydra, instantly making him the most interesting man in the room. The second season gave us Hydra cleanup, Kree, and the discovery of Inhumans. It felt much more like a comic book series, especially when the third season launched one of their own to an alien planet and brought an alien back with them.

Still, ratings declined at a slow pace. The first season premiered with 12.12 million viewers while the finale had 5.45 million. Average total viewers over the season was just over 8 million. The second season averaged 7.46 million viewers, the third season even less with 5.52 million.

If the ratings stay similar to what the third season had, will ABC keep it around another season just for syndication? The standard rule seems to be one hundred episodes; Agents of SHIELD sits at 66 episodes before season four. If season four has 22 episodes like the rest, it will sit nice and pretty at 88 episodes overall. Is that close enough to warrant a fifth season solely for syndication purposes?

ABC has mercilessly cut down on Disney tie-ins because the ratings just don’t make the cut. (RIP The Muppets.) It’s a smart move financially, but for fans, it hurts. On the flip side, Netflix is tripling down on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The next fourteen months give us Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders with Daredevil season three, Jessica Jones season two, and the Punisher series still in the pipeline. And that’s not counting if Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger ever finds its way to Freeform.

Is it possible that if ABC cuts ties that Netflix might pick up the series? They stream the prior seasons anyway, so why not?

Clark Gregg has already expressed his desire to have a crossover with the Netflix characters. If you want cross pollination with the greater MCU, a Netflix character seems a cheaper alternative and easier feat. Agents of SHIELD can act as a segue between Netflix series, like what Marvel’s Agent Carter did between halves of seasons for AoS.

Next: Check out more TV on Culturess

In the end, who knows if this is the last season of Agents of SHIELD? Many people think the push to the 10pm time slot spells doom, but it may lead to better plot opportunities. Perhaps Ghost Rider will bring in more viewers and win another season from ABC. Or, with The Inhumans movie off the docket for MCU’s Phase Three, why not flood our televisions with Medusa, Black Bolt, and anything else they want to? Go out with a bang. For now, let’s just enjoy the ride.

Home/MCU TV