Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t been a big winner in the ratings department since Season 1, but that hasn’t kept ABC from continuously renewing its marquee Marvel show. That might be changing, though, as Channing Dungey, the head of ABC Entertainment Group, recently hinted that the show’s future is up in the air.
Dungey spoke at length about all things ABC at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour this Monday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dungey confirmed that the fate of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be decided in an upcoming meeting with Marvel. So, it’s not all doom and gloom just yet. There’s always a chance the show could press on for a sixth season, and maybe even more.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. has always benefitted from the fact that it’s good business for Disney to keep their marquee Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in show in-house. If anything, cancellation plans likely wouldn’t be attributed to waning ratings, but rather changes in the MCU.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. kicked off in 2012 on the heels of Marvel’s The Avengers. A lot has happened in the MCU since then, and while the show has kept up with the movies for the most part (introducing all manner of aliens and even sending the core team into space), the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War looks to uproot much of the foundation that allowed a show like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to take hold. There’s also the issue of Disney’s upcoming digital streaming service, which Dungey reiterated would host its own original Marvel series.
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Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, Jeff Ward, Eve Harlow, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Coy Stewart.