Though all the signs over the past few months have pointed towards this outcome, True Believers have been dreading this day for some time. On a day where ABC has announced a number of cancellations of fan favorite shows such as ‘Castle’, ‘Nashville’, ‘Galavant’, and ‘The Muppets’ (which actually did get much better around the mid-season point), Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter‘ has been revealed as one of the shows that will not be returning for another season.
Despite critical acclaim and a devoted following of fans, the network has opted not to renew the Marvel spy drama featuring Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter and her missions with the S.H.I.E.L.D. predecessor known as the Strategic Scientific Reserve. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC wasn’t too pleased with the low ratings that didn’t match up to the solid performances that they were getting from ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’. However, they were pleased with the show’s star as Atwell will be starring in the upcoming series ‘Conviction’ from ‘Jessica Jones’ writer Liz Friedman.
Does this mean that we won’t learn the outcome of that crazy cliffhanging finale of ‘Agent Carter’ Season 2? Well, not necessarily. There are a few avenues that could be explored should the architects at Marvel Television and the executives at ABC choose to explore them. For instance, the story of Peggy Carter, Edwin Jarvis, Howard Stark, and the rest of the gang could be continued in a limited comic series. With showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas putting in work on the latest volume of ‘Captain Marvel’, this seems like the most probable plan of action since Marvel Comics has published several stories set in the MCU before.
Another option could be a one-off special similar to the ones that tell new short stories from the worlds of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Frozen’. They could even release it under the Marvel One-Shot branding that Marvel Studios uses for their short films or dedicate a very special episode of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ to one of Peggy’s adventures.
Finally, it’s possible that the show could find a new home on Netflix or another ABC channel. If ‘Supergirl’ could find new life by jumping to The CW and lowering its budget, maybe ‘Agent Carter’ could do the same at Freeform along with the upcoming ‘Cloak & Dagger’ series. But even if those options were to end up on the table later on, the reality of the situation right now is that the show is no more.
Are you disappointed that ABC cancelled ‘Agent Carter’? Do you think that Peggy or any of the other characters from the show will resurface somewhere else down the line? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences and puns far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.