How An Agent Carter TV Special Would Actually Work

agent carter

ABC's Agent Carter attracted a dedicated following over its two seasons on the air, but it sadly failed to draw big enough numbers for the network to order Season 3. Now, in an era of reboots and revivals galore, the ABC series cancellation doesn't necessarily mean that Agent Carter is gone forever. Although Netflix already said no to picking up Carter to stream a third season, star Hayley Atwell has floated the idea of a one-off special for Peggy and her pals. Marvel is on board with a revival special, as well. One small obstacle lies in the way of more Agent Carter: the special doesn't actually have a place where it would air.

Marvel TV chief Jeph Loeb has revealed that Marvel can't order a TV special without knowing ahead of time that it has a home somewhere on the small screen, according to TVLine. The Marvel movies are such huge deals that they can be produced without necessarily knowing what theaters will pick them up. The shows have much less guaranteed success, and an order for a Agent Carter special could only happen if a Marvel Television partner agrees to play it. The team just doesn't have the option to produce now and shop around later. A network is going to have to commit to a special and an approximate airdate if production is going to happen at all. In short:

What Marvel Television does every day is it connects with our partners --- ABC, FX, Fox, Netflix, Freeform --- and they tell us when they would like it. So the short answer is: Sure, if someone wants to call and say, 'We want a two-hour Agent Carter for May 2017,' boom. We'll put together the greatest Agent Carter movie we can.

ABC seems like it would be the natural network for an Agent Carter TV movie. As the original home of Carter and the current home of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC could be a perfect fit. Unfortunately, ABC hasn't shown much faith in Marvel productions lately. The S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff was cancelled before it could get past the pilot stage, meaning that the two characters meant to lead the new show had been written off of S.H.I.E.L.D. for nothing. Agent Carter fans shouldn't pin all their hopes on an ABC revival.

Other networks than ABC are connected to Marvel Television and could be options for another go at Agent Carter. FX, Fox, Netflix, and Freeform are all candidates. Netflix said no to Season 3, but a one-off special might not be out of the question. The other three networks had or have Marvel shows in development, so the idea of a collaboration for a project like Agent Carter isn't too-farfetched. Right now, we may just need to cross our fingers and hope that Peggy will get another mystery to investigate somewhere down the line.

Of course, there's always the chance that Hayley Atwell will turn up as Peggy in another Marvel project. Atwell has appeared in big screen ventures like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as via flashback in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Even if we don't get to see any more of Agent Carter in the near future, we may get to see Peggy elsewhere. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to catch on the small screen without Agent Carter as an option.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).