Cancellation/renewal season is always rough. It’s basically Glengarry Glen Ross Christmas for hundreds of TB professionals as they find out if they still have a job next year. My heart bleeds for the countless hard working, talented people who don’t luck out and land on a show that grabs an audience. Good luck, folks. You got this.
The last 24 hours have seen two much beloved geek shows suffer very different fates; Supergirl and Agent Carter. Two of the consistently best-written, different hours of genre fiction series drama facing two very different fates.
Let’s take a look at Supergirl first. There’s always an awful sense of inevitability when a show starts struggling to keep its place and that’s certainly been present in National City recently. Les Moonves’ initial assurance that the show would be renewed was then stepped down to a Maybe, further stepped down to a No, and put the show in the middle of what I like to call the Hail Mary Corridor.
It’s actually quite difficult to kill a TV show these days. Or at least, much harder than it used to be. Ripper Street, the excellent BBC Victorian police procedural and stab-a-thon was saved by Amazon, Longmire was picked up by Netflix as was The Killing, Arrested Development and others. The simple existence of streaming services has been credited by other shows in helping them find and grow their audiences, with the most famous example being Breaking Bad, whose international audience is largely the result of streaming services.
So, when a TV show seems to be going down, a petition usually goes up in the Hail Mary Corridor. Netflix is rapidly becoming viewed as the go-to venue for good shows that didn’t get the audience they deserved and it’s easy to see why. Netflix have committed to spending an astonishing 5 billion dollars on non-sport-related original content in 2016. That means they’re both hungry for new content, and that content that has an audience already built-in is even more of a plus. Hence bringing the likes of Longmire aboard, and the willingness of fan groups to petition the service to pick up their favorite orphaned or struggling shows. Witness, in particular, the ongoing attempts to get a Dredd sequel or show launched through the service: the chances of it happening are not high, but they’re not zero, and that’s enough.
Thankfully, Supergirl had an ace up it’s thumb-hooked sleeve: the fact it’s the fourth show of a string of successful shows on another network. I’ve talked elsewhere about how Greg Berlanti’s TV approach to the DC Universe is frequently excellent and the ongoing success of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow speaks to that. Even at launch, it seemed more than a little odd to have those three shows all on The CW, and Supergirl all by itself over on CBS. To be fair, they made this into a feature, not a bug, and I loved the postmodern conceit of the different networks mapping onto different parallel universes, but nonetheless Supergirl felt like an outlier. Worse still, it felt like a show trapped on a network that didn’t quite know what to do with it.
That outlier status is what’s ultimately saved the show. The CW, who are quite happy with their Berlanti shows and have renewed all of them (and everything else on their slate), have bought the show and it’ll be part of the Berlantiverse as of Season 2. Whether or not everyone makes the move remains to be seen, as the show will be relocating to Vancouver, apparently, but it will get a second year in the best possible place for it. Which, in turn, means we get another crossover, and given how joyous the last one was, that’s nothing but good news.
Whereas, for Agent Peggy Carter, there’s just nothing. Or at least that’s how it seems at first.
Hayley Atwell’s magnificently polite, two-fisted action heroine has thrown her last immaculately-tailored punch. After two seasons, two cities, and a distinct sense of not really knowing what to do with the show, ABC have pulled the plug on Agent Carter as well as stopped development on their Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff show, Marvel’s Most Wanted, for the second time. There’s a wider element to those two decisions that speaks to the network having no idea what do with their Marvel shows, but that’s one of those places where supposition and fact collide and do so many shots that they forget which one is which.
The simple truth is this: Agent Carter has been cancelled. Consistently one of the smartest, oddest, kindest members of the Marvel TV show flotilla, it’s also the first one to end, which is going to generate a whole bunch of think pieces and some frantic headlines involving the words “superhero fatigue.” That’s not necessary or accurate, and should be looked at with the same arch, mildly annoyed patience with which Peggy would look upon it. Because while the show is cancelled, Agent Carter herself is quite well—or, at least, could be for several reasons.
Firstly, the Hail Mary Corridor is open for business. Like I said above, that’s not a lock or even a good chance, but it’s not nothing and that’s enough for a lot of fans to put their shoulders to the wheel. Also, Agent Carter would be a much better fit for Netflix than anywhere else. The 8 to 10-episode runs the series employs are much closer to the 13-episode Netflix model than ABC’s 20-plus approach. Likewise, the defiantly serialised nature of Agent Carter rewards the hell out of a weekend in front of Netflix with unlimited tea and toasted British bread products.
Like Jarvis doesn’t sling a mean English muffin? COME ON.
Then there’s the possibility of appearances elsewhere. The logical option is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I’d like us to stop for a moment and consider two words:
Time travel.
And then two more:
Simmons’ expression.
I’m honestly amazed there’s not been a crossover yet, and this is the perfect time to do it. If nothing else, the simple fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. operate out of an old SSR headquarters that Peggy has clearly used opens the door. Here’s hoping we get to see her stride right on through it and refer to Coulson as “Phillip” soon.
Certain…events in Civil War apparently preclude Peggy from being in future Marvel movies but even that isn’t an absolute guarantee. Ant-Man proved flashbacks can work, and I get the sneaking suspicion that it really will be all hands on deck in a few years when the Infinity War movies hit. Those big crossovers are defined by the “we fill the stage with goldfish” approach to the cast and I’d say the chances of World War 2-era Peggy, in particular, being part of the final battle are pretty damn high. Maybe she’ll bring the Howling Commandos with her, once Dum Dum is finished being Villain of the Year over on Arrow…
Finally, there’s the hallowed, metafictional halls of fan fiction. Fans got Peggy that second season. Fans may well secure her a third. They can, and should, get her any and everything else they want to, as well. For myself, I want a Thrilling Adventure Hour-style Agent Carter podcast, I want to see Agent Carter mods for tabletop RPGs. I want to read fan fiction that reveals Peggy has been quietly pulling the strings for the good guys in the modern MCU for years. I want a Season 3, but if instead of that we get a Peggy Carter unbound from the terrors of ratings and free to be wherever she damn well pleases? I’ll take it.
Because the weird thing about cancellation season is the only people not really touched by it are the characters. The creators and show staff have to scramble for their next job, the fans celebrate or mourn, but the characters, pushed out into that postmodern space between creators and viewers, are, in the end, immortal. Ideas, after all, are bulletproof. They’re cancellation-proof too. Kara Danvers will fly again later this year. Whether on TV or the page, via staff or fandom, Peggy Carter is going to be back, too. We’ll be there when she returns.
Alasdair Stuart is a freelancer writer, RPG writer and podcaster. He owns Escape Artists, who publish the short fiction podcasts Escape Pod, Pseudopod, Podcastle, Cast of Wonders, and the magazine Mothership Zeta. He blogs enthusiastically about pop culture, cooking and exercise at Alasdairstuart.com, and tweets @AlasdairStuart.
Hayley Atwell also just had a pilot picked up for a legal drama at ABC, so her going on to do another season of Agent Carter for another company may present some logistical issues.
The fact that Agent Carter is not already on Netflix is a crime of the first order.
@1, No it doesn’t Agent Carter only takes a few months to film, as does her other show.
Supergirl was all by itself over on CBS, not ABC.
I just now noticed that both Supergirl and the Flash have sleeves with thumb hooks (is that what you call them?). Kind of gives away that both costumes were designed by Colleen Atwood, rather than Winn Schott and Cisco Ramon respectively.
I’m so happy that Supergirl will get a season 2 to prove itself, I absolutely love that show, but am very sad about Agent Carter’s cancellation. One edit. In the article you stated: “….and Supergirl all by itself over on ABC.” Should be ‘CBS’ NOT ‘ABC’ in that sentence. Agent Carter is on ABC.
@3 – Yes, except that ‘filming season’ is pretty much the same for most shows, meaning even though it only takes a few months, it would be *extremely likely* that those few months would happen more or less at the same time.
@6 The beauty of streaming shows is there are no “filming seasons.” The days of fall to early spring shows are long gone. Now cable networks and streaming shows come out during the summer which gives them the opportunity to film them at different times then the standard new show season on the networks.
@@@@@ I wondered about that but was too lazy to look it up. I thought there was no way a Disney owned company would have a DC property in its lineup!
My sneaking suspicion: someone at Marvel (Feige maybe) recently mentioned bringing back the One-Shots concept on the web or streaming…seems like a great fit for Peggy to appear. Zip between eras. Heck, use Peggy for prequels/intros to other properties. Peggy meets Orson Randall or Fat Cobra. She and the Howlers meet up with mercs led by Marc Spector. Stuff like that.
Glad that we keep Supergirl, sad the Agent Carter is over. Regarding Supergirl’s cast, at least Callista Flockhart is staying, from what I’ve read, after her initial insistence at staying in LA.
@7 – That’s a possibility, but the reality is also that other people’s schedules who do work in network (etc) TV have to be taken into account, because it’s not like the production team does it’s own colour-correction and so on (third parties like Deluxe and so on do all that stuff). All the apparatus that supports a show has to be available at the same time, and that won’t necessarily be the case for shows not conforming to the standard shooting schedules. Not saying it *can’t* happen, only that’s it’s not super likely for reasons that have nothing to do with who owns the show. Most of my friends who work in TV production (ie. not the cast or the producer, but like prop masters, graphics people, and so on) all work year-round anyway, and the usual hiatus is when they get to take their vacations from working, like, 18 hour days. So stuff that doesn’t fit into their schedule has an uphill battle getting made, regardless of how Netflix chooses to air it.
This is similar to discussions like “why didn’t secondary character X have a bigger part” or “why did we have to wait X number of episodes to see this thing” and the answer is almost always “budget, logistics, and availability of the people who do the work” and almost never “we thought it would be better for the story”. This is especially true of low-budget shows like Agent Carter.
@1, it’s not necessarily a different company. Any Agent Carter show would still be produced by Marvel, which is owned by Disney, which also owns ABC. Its possible.
@August, the filming seasons aren’t the same if the airing season isn’t the same. In the Season 2 premiere of AoS there was a special guest appearance by Atwell and the actor who plays Dugan. This was feasible because they were just filming the AC episode that featured Dugan, but that scene was shot just weeks before the premiere, while AoS filmed the rest of that episode months before.
@11 not trying to be the super douchy argue guy but generally the network shooting goes from about the beginning of August to the end of January. The actors usually don’t have anything to do with the production of the show beyond acting. that leaves February to the end of July to shoot a 13 episode Netflix show which is plenty of time. So logistically, it’s not impossible. Besides, how do you think actors are able to star in movies when they’re committed to a show? They have several months off between seasons.
Just corrected the ABC/CBS mix-up in the article–thanks!
@13 That’s what I immediately thought of. Atwell appeared in two or three episodes in flashbacks during that season (there was the interrogation of Whitehall flashback too). Since her contract with ABC for her new pilot/show specifically left an opening to film a season of Agent Carter, I wouldn’t be surprised if the wording (given the bubble that the show sat on) allowed her space to make a guest shot or two on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., probably regarding the founding of the organization (with the hints offered of late that “it’s time” for S.H.I.E.L.D. to reemerge from its secrecy, I could very easily see an episode tying together the creation and the recreation of the organization in similar times of paranoia).
Yes, it’s unfortunate that we very likely won’t see that whole cast again, but that’s the nature unfortunately of television sometimes. ABC’s experiment of running a side-show during the winter (which a few of their shows have done) didn’t maintain audiences as they intended – it’s a lot of outlay on new shows/mini-series that not enough folks watch. I can imagine that that’s why the idea of expanding it into a year-round pattern with Most Wanted (a third show to keep winter and summer alike booked up in that time slot with related material) is being shelved; rather than pay the costs in sets and staffs for three shows, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the next season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have perhaps 26 rather than 22 episodes (folding in some plots and characters intended for the others) to save on those additional outlays and maintain the known audience.
Not surprised to hear the news about Agent Carter being cancelled, and Marvel’s Most Wanted not being ordered, as there are a lot of shows getting the axe at ABC. Disney missed analyst’s expectations last month, driven partially by diminished Disney World attendance, but mostly because their TV business (which includes ABC) is not doing as well as other arms of the company. For example, ESPN is being hurt by people who are opting out of cable TV, if not entirely, then from premium channels and packages. So some belt tightening is not at all unexpected.
Too bad, because Agent Carter is my favorite show airing on TV today.
I am glad that Supergirl will continue on CW. I hope that they can bring back most of the same cast, especially Calista Flockhart, who is one of the best parts of the show. I didn’t love the Supergirl show, but I found it enjoyable viewing week in and week out, and like its positive, upbeat tone.
@8/Scotty: “I thought there was no way a Disney owned company would have a DC property in its lineup!”
Actually, there are theoretically laws against that kind of monopolistic behavior. Even if a TV network and a production company are owned by the same corporation, the production company is still obligated to give every network an equal chance to bid on its shows. After all, there have been DC shows on several networks not owned by Warner Bros. — Supergirl on CBS, Gotham and Lucifer on FOX, formerly Constantine on NBC. So, legally, there’s no reason ABC wouldn’t be free to buy a WB-produced show based on a DC comic, if they wanted to. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. In practice, things do seem to be getting more monopolistic, with networks increasingly favoring shows produced by their in-house studios, because of the lack of license fees (as we just saw with Supergirl).
I am going to be the bad guy here… Both shows were good but not great… For me they never seemed to turn the corner to become something I had to watch. Agent carter especially would be better as a binge watch on Netflix I think.
I hope we get to see Peggy Carter again sometime — I loved both seasons of the show.
There is a web based petition on change.org that asks Netflix to pick up Agent Carter, and it has over 22000 signatures so far. I just signed, and am sure others out there would be willing to sign as well!
Supergirl suffered from having a large audience that looked at it but didn’t follow through. If this had evened out more, CBS might have kept it on. CBS hasn’t shared their shows to Netflix (whereas you can already find S1 of The Flash and it was there pretty much in time for people to stream before S2). It would be helpful if WB works it out with CBS so that the first season (or at least good and lengthy highlights) are available somewhere prior to a launch of the second season on the CW.CBS also, for the rest of their shows, has a demographic that doesn’t really lend itself to support Supergirl, or to build an evening with that kind of television.
The fact that it shares some DNA with the CW shows (where the audience expectations are different and the money is also different) is the same thing, as some including the OP have suggested. I enjoyed the show and watched it regularly although for a variety of personal reasons, still have to catch up with the last two episodes. It had some exceptional and strong/interesting episodes (for example, how they handled the red Kryptonite) but it also had some poorly paced, exceedingly logic lapsed rationales (even for a genre, science fiction comic book based serial) and made some poor decisions from the start (e.g. the Winn unrequited intimacy desires towards Kara). I think it will fit better on the CW and will thrive, although I suspect it will be different in some respects beyond what you might expect for just a second season.
On the other hand, I would fully personally endorse the idea that Agent Carter is among the best written and plotted shows. I do think they made some production and thematic decisions this season that I would not have but none of them made me wish to cringe or feel bad for the actors/cast, or think the writers were lazy. This season was an example of some of the more outrageous elements in comic books and in genre writing; I do think that Agent Carter this season would probably work better as a streaming experience, although personally, my limit would be a few episodes a day, and rarely do I feel the need to know (for example, while it makes some browsing difficult, the fact that I have yet to be able to see the two episodes – partially because I can do so legally and do not wish to try to do it a different way — among other reasons, when I get around to seeing it, I’ll be counted as a late DVR watcher, for example) in the ultimate audience size listings.
No one has commented here on the fact that these are two female lead shows, one of which actually has multiple females (Supergirl) amongst the key players in the show. But you do see those comments on other sites (4chan, for example), not necessarily unkindly, and most again blaming other things (e.g. poor fight choreography as opposed to say Black Widow/Lucy/Daredevil, or poor special effects – which is a constant criticism about any televised show, now that too many people have too many expectations from films).
Agent Carter also is a filler show – made to fill in the gap between Agents of Shield.
They completely botched the screening of it this year because season two had more episodes, meaning that the gap wasn’t big enough, and the ads … oh god the ads are offensively intrusive. Is that normal for US mainstream television?
It’s the kind of show that should be made on spec, and then made available to whoever needs an 8-13 episode slot filled, because it has a ready audience, but I don’t think they do that business model any more.
I wonder if it would work better as a UK style mini series – 3 episodes of 60-90 min instead of 9×30.
@22/_FDS: I’d say both shows had multiple important female players. AC has characters like Dottie, Angie, Whitney, Rose, and Ana Jarvis as well as Peggy. They tend to be in less dominant societal roles because of the period, but they are present and significant. I’m sure AC passes the Bechdel Test easily.
As for action choreography, we’ve seen it done well in a number of TV shows. Both Arrow and Agents of SHIELD have upped their game in response to Daredevil, particularly in episodes directed by Kevin Tancharoen. And as for visual effects, all I can say is that modern audiences are spoiled. The VFX work on TV today would’ve been feature-quality by the standards of just 5-10 years ago. It’s astonishing compared to what was possible on TV in the ’70s or ’80s or even the ’90s. And it’s mercifully free of the excess and self-indulgence too often found in movies with budgets 100 times larger.
Both Supergirl and Agent Carter/Agents of SHIELD have very good VFX for TV, particularly if you compare them to Flash (which are not always bad, but sometimes leave a bit to be desired).
@25/lordm: I think the effects in The Flash are pretty remarkable. Sure, they’re not perfectly photorealistic, but for most of my life that was never even a possibility for FX, and it’s not like comic books are anywhere near photorealistic. It’s amazing that they’ve actually managed to do characters like Grodd and King Shark in live action at all, or to do so much with their fully-digital Flash. Ditto for Legends of Tomorrow. They recently did an episode where the Atom grew to kaiju size to battle a giant robot, and it was done as pure CGI, even in shots where the giant Atom (the Giatom?) was just lying on the ground. It was quite impressively done. What should matter is that they’re able to show us these characters and sequences at all. That would’ve been effectively impossible for a live-action TV series just a year or two ago.
I agree with you, they have good effects, and they serve their purpose. I’m only saying that Supergirl and Agent/Agents have even better effects, IMHO. I don’t really complain about TV-quality effects, at most I’ll giggle when something looks too silly.
While I’m happy to see Supergirl return, Agent Carter is the show where I hoped against hope for a renewal. There are over 95,000 signatures on the Netflix petition right now, and I’d be happy to see anything, from a more limited series or made-for-Netflix movies, to guest spots on Agents of SHIELD. Peggy is an amazing character, and what a waste it would be to let her go!
Now if only Berlanti could pull Constantine out of cancellation hell and add it to DCTV the CW.
This has made my day. I quite recently got into Agent Carter and the previous knowledge that it had been cancelled didn’t quite hit home until I had almost finished both series. The fact that Netflix has refused to pick it up was another back-handed blow, but you, kind sir, have dried my tears in the kindest way possible. The characters are what count, and I will keep that to my grave. Thank-you.
This is totally random, but I was recently re-reading Robert A. Heinlein’s 1941 story “–And He Built a Crooked House–“, about an innovative architect who accidentally invents a 4-dimensional tesseract house that he, his friend, and his friend’s wife get trapped in, and in trying to mentally “cast” the roles, I thought of Dominic Cooper in Howard Stark mode to play the architect. And then it occurred to me that I could totally see the story rewritten into an MCU short film (or maybe a half-hour TV episode) with Howard Stark in the role of the architect, Peggy Carter in the role of the friend, and Jarvis in place of the wife. A few tweaks here and there would be needed to fit the characters, of course — sort of like how Larry Niven adapted “The Soft Weapon” into an animated Star Trek episode — but I think it could work. Howard isn’t an architect, but if he decided to dabble in the field, accidentally inventing a 4D house is just the sort of thing he might do.
That’s quite a neat idea, Chris.