Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D....this fall on ABC
 

Josh Whedon is involved. I'm in!



http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...-agents-520903



It's official: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the air at ABC.
The Joss Whedon drama based on the Marvel Comics property has landed a series order at the Disney-owned network, ABC announced Friday.

The ABC Studios project is based on Marvel Comics' secret intelligence organization that has appeared in countless titles, including Iron Man, Captain America and The Ultimates, since being introduced in the 1960s. The military law-enforcement agency's moniker stands for Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistic Directorate, which also has evolved over time in the comics.

Whedon is on board to co-pen the pilot alongside his brother Jed Whedon and Jed's wife, Maurissa Tancharoen; the trio previously teamed on the three-part web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Avengers and Buffy the Vampire Slayer mastermind Whedon directed the pilot, which has had ABC social media accounts for months. S.H.I.E.L.D. is executive produced by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Tancharoen, Jeffrey Bell and Marvel TV's Jeph Loeb.

ER's Ming-Na stars as Agent Melinda May, The Avengers' Clark Gregg reprises his role as Agent Phil Coulson, Killing Lincoln's Brett Dalton is set as gruff rising star Agent Grant Ward, Elizabeth Henstridge as science whiz Agent Gemma Simmons and Iain DeCaestecker as tech guru Agent Leo Fitz, with Nashville's Chloe Bennet set as Skye, a superhero-obsessed woman.
Since the project was first announced in August, it has been a clear front-runner to land on ABC's 2013-14 schedule. ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee told reporters in January that the project was being fast-tracked and he was "very hopeful" that the entry with a "great script" would go

"Marvel has the ability to bring the whole family around it," Lee said at the time. "Joss has great relationships around it. There's a lot of real funny male-female relationships and flirtations, but it's also Joss and Marvel, so there's a lot of action to it."

"My boss Bob Iger buys Marvel, and how wonderful is it for ABC to be able to use the core talent from that and not use the Marvel brand but the Avengers franchise for a show that is not exactly about the Avengers but is attached to it?" Lee said, noting that Whedon was already working on scripts at the time.

ABC will start a major marketing push for the high-profile project with a sizable built-in fan base Sunday, May 12, airing a first look at 8 p.m. ahead of the season finale of Once Upon a Time.

will watch

Wheedon = Buehler445 in.

I love Whedon but... Not sure about this. If they don't let him get superheroey, I don't see how it'll hold interest and an audience. If they do let him get superheroey, given the cheapness of broadcast TV I don't see how it won't look cheesy like "The Greatest American Hero". I'm sure there won't be any cameos from "Avengers" actors (too pricey).

Eh, Wheedon did a LOT with a MUCH smaller budget on firefly.

WTF:spock: Did you not see any of the star trek TV shows since 1987? I'm not worried about it looking good on TV at all.

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This might be enough to make me watch TV again...

Or I'll just pirated it..

Either way, hope for some Avengers cameos.

Welp, I guess we know with certainty Fury tricked the Avengers about Coulsons death now.

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The viral marketing has kicked off with a conspiracy blog.

You can also view the videos here.

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Believe in The SHIELD.

Unless this show takes place before then.

But, yeah, I think Fury was lying.

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I don't think they will but this series would be the perfect avenue to test the waters on Doc Strange.

The hard part is finding the right actor...

I guess that answers the question about whether this takes place before Avengers.

Coulson lives!

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Perhaps some Luke Cage in there?

"Put me in this mother****'n show!"

http://img.moviepilot.com/assets/tar...ke_cage-oo.jpg

Sweet Christmas, yes. He's one of the biggest-named Marvel characters who hasn't shown up in a movie yet.

This will probably not be the ONLY Marvel spin-off on TV.

From what I've heard, a Peggy Carter show is likely to happen, due to the success of the Peggy short at Comic Con.

Dr. Strange is SLs favorite.
I am shocked that he hasnt been introduced.

I have heard rumors of a dr strange movie, but nothing solid
like the Peggy Carter idea

luke cage, iron fist, misty knight, and the other girl, HEROS FOR HIRE

Colleen Wing.

A Peggy series would give them a chance to bridge the Captain America to Winter Soldier continuity, do SHIELD origin stuff, track Fury a bit as he goes through time, etc, etc.

I think Atwell could carry a TV series, especially with solid guest/recurring guests. I'm think Sebastien Stan could pop in as Bucky/Winter Solider/etc and give her someone solid to play off of. Whitford as her boss, long-term, would also work well.

They're currently shopping a Peggy series with Atwell as the lead.


Anywho, early reviews are in, and they all seem positive.

In case you hadn't heard, Coulson's death was an elaborate ruse.

I'm skeptical that this can work for multiple seasons (or even 24 episodes) but it's set to record.

Yes, that was my take back when the movie came out. Although IIRC there was still some debate at the time that post was made back in May what really happened, and some early talk about whether the TV show was a prequel that took place before Coulson died (or "died").

EDIT: Indeed, check out Deberg's post earlier in this thread.

I think it's going to be huge, but for a reason that will probably sound weird coming from me as someone who prefers drama with grey or darker tones: it's light-hearted. Everything is skewed so dark nowadays, that I think a good (that's important, it has to be good...) family-safe show with humor and a slant towards hope is going to be an easy sell. It also helps that they can play off the popularity of both Marvel and Joss Wheden.

What I wonder is why they put it up against NCIS. Starting a new series up against the #1 show seems like a gamble. Maybe they're not counting on audience cross-over, and hoping the (likely) younger audience they should bring in skews things in their favor.

What concerns me long term (and even short term for that matter) is that none of Marvel's most well-known characters will appear in this series.

No Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, or Captain America. Even lessor knowns like Hawkeye, Black Widow and Ant Man won't appear, either, because there are plans for stand-alone films for each. Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Jo aren't going to appear on a weekly TV series. It's possible that whomever they cast as Ant-Man will have a crossover but that's about it.

And certainly no Spidey.

So with that in mind, how does this series sustain the already built-in audience? That's the biggest question, IMO.

Curious to see what heroes/villains appear in this.

That's a tough question. It matters if Samuel L Jackson at least cameos in it and if they can snag Cobie Smoulders (whatever her role in Avengers was) it will make for easier transition.

Just a guess, but NCIS appeals to 50 and over? Personally I've never seen an episode. I hate procedural shows.

I liked it.

See how it goes when Joss Whedon isn't writing and directing it.

Forgot to DVR. Any chance I can watch this (legally) online? ABC.com or some such?

There are thousands of Marvel comix characters. Hundreds of good one's.

I think lesser know characters like Maddrox (multiple man,) Luke Cage, and inter-dimensional and ET characters could be used.

I think the show survives by generating strong storylines that don't have anything to do with established Marvel canon (or just loose association or minor characters). It's all about the characters they create for the show. If people care about the ensemble cast, if the audience becomes invested in their story, people will keep tuning in. Like any other show. Strong acting, good writing. Good TV.

Can't say I was overly impressed with the first episode.

Nor was I. I wound up deleting it from my DVR list of series to recod.

kinda cheap and corny....not real impressed with the bland casting

I thought it was okay. Blacklist pilot was better. Sleepy Hollow pilot was worse. We'll see where it goes week 2.

This was exactly my thought. There were some scenes in it that just screamed Whedon.

I fell asleep 30 minutes in. I'll watch the rest tonight.

But so far, it seems like a low-rent "Heroes" with uninspired casting. I like Ming-Na Wen but this just didn't work for me.

This is actually a good Beta Test for Disney and a future live action Star Wars series. This pilot felt like they were sleepwalking and playing off the brand.

Easier said than done.

This is exactly why pilots are necessary.

If a pilot doesn't find an audience immediately, more often than not, the show doesn't survive. Networks aren't going to commit to 13 or 24 episodes when no one is watching.

Yeah.

(And I should clarify I was just laying out how I thought it would best be done, not making a prediction that that's what they'll do, or that it will work. I obviously have no idea what's going to happen...)

Whedon isn't doing the entire series?

No, just the pilot. He's listed as "Executive Producer" which is pretty much a title in name only for him, other than revenue participation and the occasional script/direction review.

He's busy working on Avengers 2.

I don't know if I agree with this. I think NCIS has appeal across all age groups to be that popular. Plus to me what doesn't make sense is that most of the true/long time Marvel fans are probably in the 50 and over crowd wouldn't you think?

Well, that stinks.

It sounds like he may be intending to stay more involved with shield than any of us expected, to the point of putting other projects on hold:

Well, he's contractually obligated to run the show now, for as long as it lasts.

I've been a Marvel fan my whole life and I didn't love it. I felt like it was pretty hokey. Especially the end when everyone was looking at each other in an approving manner. That was bad.

Weeks two and three will be the real indicators

Same as any other new show.

Except for those that suck right out of the gate.

:D

ABC's Lucky 7 only pulled in 4 million viewers. It's probably safe to say it won't be around in three weeks, unless ABC doesn't have anything else to put in its timeslot.

Those occasionally recover, both in quality and ratings.

And then there are the good shows that are marketed badly and never find an audience.

This is interesting to me:

I'm actually surprised at the ratings of SHIELD. They're roughly the same as Sleepy Hollow and I expected them to be much, much higher, given the built-in audience.

NCIS.

Comcast

The first season of "Buffy" was slow.

The first season of "Lost" was great.

I'll give it more than one show to impress me.

I don't think it's quite the same audience but we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

Buffy wasn't aired on a major Free network, so it was given time to grow.

And the last was putrid. What's your point?

Pilot's either turn you off or keep you interested until the next week. Personally, I'm not all that interested in S.H.I.E.L.D unless they give me a reason to be interested.

So far, I'm recording it with the hope that it improves. If not, adios.

I'm sure there's some crossover. I know I watched both NCIS and SHIELD. I'm most likely not the only one. Plus there's The Voice, as well.

As I mentioned way back, Tuesday's a busy TV night...

What, there aren't any marvel c team characters to put in the pilot?

I'd be really surprised if Colbie Smulders makes a return appearance. I thought Coulson was way too glib. The explanation of his return was classic comic book murky. I don't think the Avengers tie-in is enough to keep this going.

I watched NCIS....then watched my neighbors DVR of it after NCIS-LA.

Honestly wasn't as impressed as i had hoped to be, but it was good.

I got the impression that from the dialogue that there is more to Coulson's resurrection than him laying on a beach with an umbrella in his drink, and it seems that Coulson doesn't know about it, but Maria Hill(Smulders) does.

I'm guessing clone with implanted memories or similar.

I would not be surprised to see Smulders again, she's a TV actress and this show has a lot of hype. Might be a regular guest star.

I thought the show was decent. I don't expect it to be deep.

Smulders would have a hard time of that with her gig on How I met your mother.

Deep?! It was pretty campy if you ask me.

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Nah. That show is ending and most of her work for this season is already in the can.

Huh. I didn't get "campy" at all. I thought they went a little too "Gadget" heavy but apparently, that's Whedon's M.O. for this program.

I also caught onto this and I feel your 100% right.
I'd need to go back and watch it but right after Coulson said he recovered on an island etc.. he walked away and someone said.. he still believes that?

So Coulson most likely is a clone and he doesn't even know it himself.
I cant help thinking how pissed Penny & Tony will be not to mention Cap & the others.
Their gonna want answers.

The show was a tad better than I expected However I wasn't expecting to last 30 minutes in.
I'll watch another week and go from there.

I thought it was decent.

It's not Mad Men or House. It's trying to be something lighter. More like a Cheers mentality with technology and a mission. It definitely has a Firefly feel to it though.

It depends on where it goes whether it kicks ass or sucks ass bit I thought it was decent enough start.

And IIRC, Dane didn't like Avengers, I'm not surprised he didn't like this. If you didn't like the style of Avengers this will suck.

I tried to watch NCIS but I think its crap. Then when it became the #1 show, I tried to go back and watch again from the beginning, but it just really sucks. Mark Harmon is a Lifetime movie actor at best. I just don't understand how this could be the #1 show.

I didn't like The Avengers. But that said, I didn't say that I didn't like this show, but I do have a hard time understanding how it will move forward successfully in the absence of well-known Marvel superheroes.

I didn't care for the casting of Ming-Na. I like her as an actress, I just don't get her character. The two chickies were hotties and the other agent just "blah" to me.

Clark Gregg is the key and so far, he's delivered. But 24 episodes of Clark Gregg being the most interesting part of the show is a stretch, IMO.

That's fair. And probably accurate. But where I'm at, I can see it developing into a good show. But you're right, the other characters and the plot is going to have to do some heavy lifting.

Looked to me like they were trying to make it clear that this series will deal much more with the SHIELD agents than the actual popular superheroes we're used to. I'm wondering if we'll ever see any popular heroes like Iron Man, Hulk, or Thor. I'm guessing not....

From what I've heard the past day is Samuel L. Jackson would be up for a "Charlie" in Charlie's Angels type role, Colby Smulders is up for a recurring role but none of the movie stars have shown any interest in appearing, even in a cameo role.

Probably pretty expensive to include them. Maybe Ant Man?!

just watched it

Sort of Men In Black meets Heroes