‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is the Rodney Dangerfield of comic book TV series. It has been flying under the radar since it launched in 2013. Despite the initial set-up, as an adjunct to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, once Marvel Studios (who make the films) broke away from the larger Marvel Entertainment banner, which includes Marvel TV, it has been forced to establish its own mythology, while respecting the events in the films, although the movies refuse to acknowledge the fact that ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ even exists.
On top of that, when Marvel TV entered into a deal with Netflix to create new, HBO-like R-rated series featuring comic book headliners ‘Daredevil’, ‘Iron Fist’, ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Luke Cage’, those shows got a huge amount of publicity and buzz among fans.
But as it happens, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is more popular than those more high-profile series. Parrot Analytics conducted a study, which examines “global file-sharing and peer-to-peer traffic to social media activity” to determine how “in-demand” a show is. ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ doesn’t earn great live viewing ratings, but it does perform okay when DVR views are factored in. But it’s the series’ global performance that places it in a category that Parrot Analytics describes as “Amazing,” in the top 0.03% of all shows.
Parrot Analytics findings for ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s popularity are in line with ‘Better Call Saul’, ‘Criminal Minds’, and ‘Vikings’ and higher than that of ‘The Originals’, ‘Supergirl’, ‘Arrow’, and ‘Fear The Walking Dead’. That may not sound great, as none of these shows is a massive hit in the US, (Hell, ‘The Originals’ was cancelled) but it appears they are more successful elsewhere.
Many have been waiting to hear that ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has been cancelled over the past few years. ABC renewed it for a sixth season, which will consist of fewer episodes than normal– 13 versus 22– but banished it to the nether region of summer. The show has already crossed the 100 episode mark, meaning that should it go off the air, it already has a full syndication package. But more than ever before, it looks as though this will be the final season.
The show’s lead, Clark Gregg, who plays Phil Coulson, is directing the Season 6 premiere. The cast also includes Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Jeff Ward, and Ming-Na Wen. It will return in the summer.
Source: Screen Rant
