Well, fans, our look back into the past at one of Marvel’s most engaging leading ladies has officially come to an end, two months after most viewers spent their last time with her. ABC finally made a decision on Season 3 of Agent Carter, and the network decided that pulling the plug was a better choice than keeping the power on, effectively cancelling it, while in the same breath ordering Hayley Atwell’s new drama Conviction to series. Sometimes the limbo of not knowing a show’s fate can be worse than knowing, but the knowledge hurts more in this case.
As much as we wanted Agent Carter to return for Season 3, there sadly weren’t quite enough of us to keep ABC’s sights on that prize. The limited midseason fill-in only brought in an average of 4.3 million viewers after delayed viewing statistics were compiled, and the 1.4 demo rating wasn’t terrible, but certainly didn’t match what ABC was hoping for from a comic book series. (You know how “the kids” are always talking about the 1940s and spy games, right?) Plus, the Season 2 finale ratings were dismal by anyone’s standards.
It’s not like this is a huge shock, as it was known that Agent Carter’s future was in trouble, but hope still prevails in situations where there are heroes involved, so I don’t think we can be blamed for wanting to keep optimism alive. Because this isn’t just a blow to viewers solely because we wanted to see another season. Season 2 ended on a major cliffhanger in which Thompson was shot by a mystery assailant who also happened to snag Carter’s file, a situation that absolutely needs to be answered at some point. Now that we know it won’t be told at ABC, maybe the Marvel-friendly Netflix will throw a hat into the ring. Or, at the very least, a comic book miniseries. Or, at the even more least than that least, an explanation from showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue on into Season 4, having been renewed in March, so that’s currently ABC’s only comic book series. Tonight ABC also brought more bad news related to the other Marvel spinoff Marvel’s Most Wanted, which will not be moving forward to series. What that means for former S.H.I.E.L.D. characters Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter is hard to say.
As THR points out, ABC is looking to get more into procedurals while moving away from soapier serials, so Hayley Atwell’s Conviction makes sense from the network’s perspective, since it will likely bring in more weekly viewers by its very nature. Her big-name co-stars in the legal drama include Emily Kinney, Eddie Cahill and Shawn Ashmore. We’re sure the show is going to be great, but it still stings.
If you need something to make you smile after hearing about Agent Carter’s cancellation, we’ll always have Clark Gregg as Britney Spears.
