The MCU is the biggest movie franchise in the world today, and they have built an incredible cinematic universe that few franchises can rival. Along with Star Wars, Disney is utilizing these franchises to make billions at the box office, and recent television endeavors have proven to be a genius move.
Years back, Agent Carter looked to be a small screen hit for the MCU, but it quickly disappeared from ABC after just two seasons. Its cancellation had fans wondering why it was axed at the time.
Let's take a closer look at the show and why it was ended.
The MCU's Television History
As a true titan of cinema, the MCU is primarily known as a film franchise that can make a billion-dollar blockbuster in the blink of an eye. Recently, the franchise has taken to the small screen with huge offerings like WandaVision and Loki, but in years past, the franchise had dipped its toes into television to seriously mixed results.
Agents of SHIELD and Inhumans are two examples of previous MCU shows, though their place in the franchise's canon is definitely up for debate at this point. Agents of SHIELD was a hit, but Inhumans was a catastrophe that virtually no one remembers.
Netflix shows like Daredevil (which don't appear to be canon at this point) aside, Marvel has had few small screen offerings overall. One show that the franchise did have, however, was Agent Carter.
'Agent Carter' Was Poised To Be A Hit
In February of 2015, Agent Carter made its debut on ABC, and there was a lot of hope that the series could blossom into a major hit for the MCU on the small screen. The franchise was already a powerhouse on the big screen, and a small screen takeover seemed almost inevitable when Agent Carter premiered.
Starring Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, and featuring performers like Chad Michael Murray and James D'Arcy, Agent Carter took folks back in time to an era of Marvel that had a major story to tell. While fans had seem some great stuff from Peggy Carter on the big screen, this series was determined to give the character a lot more depth and exposure.
When speaking about Peggy's popularity and that being a reason why Marvel gave her a fresh series to star in, Atwell said, "It’s exactly that. I think it’s the popularity of the character. We really enjoy working together – myself and the Marvel team – and so, I think it was based on that, and based on the response that the fans were giving, the feedback. Especially on social media, like Twitter. Um, I think people wanted to see more of her. And so the Marvel herd did something about it!"
Despite the show having a lot going for it at the time of its debut, it had a rather brief run on the small screen, which was quite a shock to fans.
Why It Was Cancelled
So, why was Agent Carter cancelled? Well, the network wanted Atwell to star in something a little more mainstream with the potential of pulling down better ratings than what Agent Carter was getting.
According to Atwell, "Yeah. It’s a shame the network canceled it and wanted to put me in something more mainstream. You know, Marvel didn’t want it to end. There’s lots of online campaigns to bring her back. Fans loved her. I think it was just a network economical thing: 'Let’s put Hayley Atwell in something more mainstream that’s less genre-specific and see if we can get higher ratings.'”
"And unfortunately, that isn't, as an actor, anything I've got control over. But maybe, in small ways, characters like Peggy Carter very slowly pave the way for it to be possible for other female-led narratives to exist. We're all part of the same conversation," she continued.
Digital Spy noted that there was a pretty steep decline in ratings for the show, which prompted the network to make such a hasty decision. It was a shame to see the show yanked from television, especially considering that Marvel fans genuinely loved what the show was bringing to the table.
Fortunately, Atwell has had the chance to play Peggy a few more times since the show's ending, including a recent voice acting stint on What If...?. Because of this, there is a renewed optimism that Hayley Atwell will have the chance to play Peggy Carter in future MCU projects.
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