ABC is turning off the lights on production of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” announcing Thursday the drama will end with its upcoming seventh season.
“It will be bittersweet saying goodbye to Marvel Television’s flagship series,” Jeph Loeb, executive producer and Marvel’s head of television, said in a statement provided to CNN.
Loeb said that he owes a debt of gratitude to the fans of the series, which chronicled the plight of the intrepid spies and associates who work with and among superheroes. For these reasons, he said “we want to end on a very high note and complete the incredible saga after seven amazing seasons and 136 hours of quality television.”
“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” premiered in fall 2013 as a spin-off of (and meant to be viewed in tandem with) the immensely profitable films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It focused on Clark Gregg’s Agent Phil Coulson, a character who had already become known to viewers of movies like “Iron Man” and “The Avengers.”
Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Jeff Ward also star.
“S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Marvel TV’s oldest and longest-running series, was one of the first of a new wave of series based on comic book properties to infiltrate the TV landscape that also includes AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and The CW’s “Arrow.” This trend would eventually embrace other, edgier Marvel shows that premiered on Netflix like “Jessica Jones” and “Daredevil” — programs that are now over as Disney, which owns both ABC and Marvel, prepares to launch streaming service Disney+ in November.
“S.H.I.E.L.D.” is currently airing its sixth season, which will have a two-hour finale on August 2. The seventh and final season will air in summer 2020.
