Marvel Studios has been on a tear these last couple years, with both The Avengers and Iron Man 3 ranking as some of the highest grossing movies of all time, and that incredible success seems to be continuing on the small screen. News has arrived that ABC has not only renewed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a second season, but has also given the greenlight to Agent Carter, the period series that will star Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, her character from Captain America: The First Avenger.
We first heard news of a possible Agent Carter series in September last year, shortly after Atwell starred as Peggy Carter in the Marvel One Shot short film named after her. That rumor was followed up by reports that Reaper creators Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas were going to be hired show runners. Finally, last week it was said that ABC was skipping the pilot stage for the show and bringing it straight to series. That news has now officially been confirmed by Deadline.
While Atwell reprised her Peggy Carter role briefly in the present day-set Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Agent Carter series will instead be set in the 1940s and follow the titular lead as she works to establish S.H.I.E.L.D. Deadline has what appears to be an official description of the show, which you can read below:
It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life – Steve Rogers.
This raises one big question: will Dominic Cooper be going to the small screen to play Howard Stark? He was great in Captain America: The First Avenger, and he was a welcomed addition to the Agent Carter short. If he is on-board, we should hear very soon, as the show is expected to start airing in the fall. I really hope that the show airs back-to-back with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Tuesday nights, ever increasing the chance for potential crossover episodes (time travel!)
I must say that I'm very happy to hear about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s continuation as well. While the series' ratings certainly dipped after its impressive pilot episode, the show has been on a roll quality-wise ever since its storyline began to blend in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The season one finale will be airing next Tuesday, and it's nice to know that there will be a future if the episode leaves any big cliffhangers.
