ABC’s ‘Agent Carter’ managed to last for two low-rated seasons, but despite a passionate core of fans, simply didn’t perform well enough for the network to continue funneling money into it, considering the period action series was pretty expensive to produce, despite Disney owning both ABC and Marvel Entertainment.
Fans lobbied to save the series, in particular looking to streaming service Netflix, which already houses four Marvel-based series, ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’ and ‘Iron Fist’, with a fifth, ‘The Punisher’ reportedly on the way. Unfortunately, it looks like enough is enough and Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos explained.
“We’re looking for truly original brands to own, and in that Marvel space we already have [original comic book shows] – so that was mostly why. They also have some output deal complexities. So when you pick it up, being able to pick it up globally is difficult even after it’s canceled. Some of those output partners still had it on the air, so they would argue its covered by their output [deals]. Unfortunately, it was a business decision more than a creative one.”
In other words, red tape is ultimately what did ‘Agent Carter’ in. Netflix must broker deals to acquire existing series, which is different from their original properties. Since ‘Agent Carter’ is still airing in some places– and may even have yet to air– it’s not as simple as Netflix simply getting the rights and making the show available because it may conflict with commercial airings of the show.
Netflix has resurrected cancelled shows in the past, including ‘Arrested Development’. But honestly, ‘Agent Carter’ doesn’t tonally match the gritty vibe of ‘Daredevil’ et. al. And considering ‘Agent Carter’ failed on regular free TV, it might not have been the most appealing option for the for-pay service.
Are you disappointed that Netflix won’t pick up ‘Agent Carter’?
Source: Comic Book Movie
