Agent Carter

Saving Agent Carter

It’s looking impossible at the moment, but Agent Carter will return if the producer, the star and the fans have anything to say about it.

It was a sad morning in May when fans of ABC’s Agent Carter learned that the show would not be returning for a third season.

The news came as a shock to many, including Jeph Loeb, the head of Marvel television. On August 8, he told Business Insider that “there were no conversations” between Marvel and ABC, Marvel’s sister company under Disney. They just pulled the plug.

The show, which was hailed by critics, ended its second season on a cliffhanger, so the news of its cancellation was not an easy pill for Carter fans to swallow. Minutes, maybe even seconds, after the announcement was made, a petition was posted on change.org for Netflix to pick up the series.

Sadly, they passed. The big cheese at Netflix, Ted Sarandos, told Entertainment Weekly that Netflix is “looking for truly original brands to own.” With successes like Daredevil and Jessica Jones under its belt and a long line of highly anticipated series on the horizon, they want to stick with what’s making them money: creating their own original Marvel productions.

A deal like this also gets complicated when a network as large as ABC passes on a show’s next season, because its viewership stretches past the United States. Sarandos explained that those international networks, also known as “output partners” would still have the show on air and would “argue it’s covered by their output.”

With these two major factors at play, Sarandos declared that it had been “a business decision more than a creative one.”

This hasn’t discouraged the fans, who have gathered 128,750 signatures on their petition, so far. Though Carter’s ratings were the reason for its downfall, it’s clear that there is a large enough fanbase to garner some attention.

At the August 4th Conviction panel for the Television Critics Association press tour, Hayley Atwell spoke about a revival, saying “I hound [Marvel Studios co-president] Louis D’Esposito on a regular basis saying, ‘Give me a movie.’”

Atwell is no stranger to the Marvel Cinematic and Television Universe, and said “Marvel is still such a big part of my career and I suppose my professional family that I would absolutely not rule out the idea of going back to Peggy at some point.”

It should also be noted that Hulu, which recently announced a series based on Marvel’s Runaways and also picked up The Mindy Project when it was dropped from Fox after its third season, could make a move for this much-loved series.

Don’t hang up your bright red hats just yet, Agent Carter fans. With Hayley Atwell and a hefty petition on your side, there may be hope for Peggy and co. in the near future.

Agent Carter

Netflix Explains Why It Didn’t Save Agent Carter

Creatively, Agent Carter had everything going for it — but in the end: business is business.

When ABC pulled the plug on low rated but the critically acclaimed Agent Carter earlier this year, many fans looked to streaming network Netflix to swoop in and pick up the show. Netflix has a history of saving beloved programs from other networks (Arrested Development, The Mindy Project), and they had built their own corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their shows Daredevil and Jessica Jones. The program seemed a natural fit.

But Netflix passed on rescuing the sophomore drama, and no one was quite sure why … until now.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos explained why Agent Carter never worked out for the network.

We’re looking for truly original brands to own, and in that Marvel space we already have [Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist] – so that was mostly why.

And even larger reason loomed — economics. Netflix liked to own their shows lock, stock and barrel, but Marvel had already sold distribution rights in dozens of countries around the globe. Sarandos explained:

They also have some output deal complexities. So when you pick it up, being able to pick it up globally is difficult even after it’s canceled. Some of those output partners still had it on the air, so they would argue it’s covered by their output [deals]. Unfortunately, it was a business decision more than a creative one.

So there you have it. “Business” did what Soviet spies, Hydra agents and rampant sexism failed to do: put an end to Peggy Carter. This depressed me a lot, so to cheer myself up, I’m sharing these delightful behind-the-scenes photos from the series that I found floating around the Internet.

Daredevil Season 2 Trailer Part 2 Puts Elektra Front and Center

We already had one trailer out for Daredevil, a trailer that focused on the Punisher. Now Netflix has release “Part 2” of their Daredevil season 2 trailer — a trailer that focuses squarely on femme fatale Elektra.

Elektra’s relationship with Daredevil is often contradictory. Sometimes they are lovers, sometimes antagonists. She’s a deadly assassin, and he is a man who has sworn to protect all life. Frank Miller mined this rich and complex relationship for years in his legendary run on the comic book version of Daredevil.

In the trailer, Elektra is asking for Matt’s help and offering him information and help in return – but don’t be surprised if she has another hidden agenda that will eventually bring her into direct conflict with her on-again, off-again lover.

From the video description:

Just when Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city, new forces are rising in Hell’s Kitchen. Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios.

Daredevil season 2 hits Netflix on March 18th.

New Daredevil Teaser Shows Elektra in Action

Netflix keeps revealing little snippets here and there of the upcoming Daredevil season 2 to keep our interest piqued. It’s a strategy that worked spectacularly well for Jessica Jones, and it is succeeding here as well. We’ve already met Frank Castle, a.k.a. “The Punisher.” Now we get our first glimpse of assassin and love interest Elektra Natchios, played by Elodie Yung, in action.

From the video description:

Just when Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city, new forces are rising in Hell’s Kitchen. Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios.

Daredevil season 2 premieres on Netflix on March 18th in the US and UK.

Netflix Orders Second Season of Jessica Jones

Break out the bourbon and the sarcastic wit, Netflix just ordered up a second helping of Jessica Jones.

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Netflix confirmed the news during its the Television Critics Association’s press tour sessions on Sunday.

Although details are scarce, it was confirmed that the show was renewed for a full 13 episodes, and that showrunner Melissa Rosenberg will still be firmly in the driver’s seat. No release date was announced.

Rosenberg did tell reporters, “I think I just want to continue with her character. She’s a very damaged character and her damage goes beyond Kilgrave [David Tennant]. There’s a lot to mine from in her backstory and in her present day situation. I think we’ll find something.”

In other exciting news, Netflix also mentioned that more Marvel spin-offs might be on the way.

When asked about spinning off characters from the streaming company’s current crop of Marvel titles into stand-alone shows, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos told reporters Sunday that “any character that’s in there is on the table … It’s always possible. All the characters in the universe could also spin out.”

Top on my list would be a show for Patsy Walker, a.k.a. Hellcat, but we are also going to get a look at the Punisher and Elektra in the upcoming second season of Daredevil. Anyone else out there that we’re not thinking of?

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Final Trailer Released

Jessica Jones is looking more and more like a worthy successor to the critically acclaimed Daredevil.  Netflix released the final trailer for the series on November 10th, and it gives us the best look yet at Hell’s Kitchen’s damaged protector.

Jessica is working as a private detective, attempting to hide her special abilities and to forget her past as a failed superhero.

From the trailer, we can see many of the elements from the comic have made their way to the show. Jessica is trying to drink away the pain of months of torture and abuse at the hands of mind-controller Killgrave, “The Purple Man.” She frequents a bar owned by Luke Cage, another super-powered street-level hero and a potential love interest.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones is available exclusively on Netflix. All episodes will be released on November 20th, 2015.

Daredevil Season 2 Teaser Trailer Gives Us First Glimpse of Elektra, Punisher

Netflix released the teaser trailer for Daredevil Season 2 that they had previously only shown at New York Comic Con. It’s only 30 seconds long, but it gives us our first tantalizing glimpses of Frenc actress Élodie Yung  as Elektra  and The Walking Dead‘s Jon Bernthal as The Punisher.

The two assassins will join the returning Charlie Cox’s Daredevil to clean up Hell’s Kitchen — or destroy it.