There's been several months of fan campaigning to save Marvel's Agent Carter after ABC decided to cancel it after two seasons. Now Netflix, the main hope for its continuation, has officially given word on its future.
The news comes from Entertainment Weekly out of the Television Critics Association (TCA) Netflix presentation today where chief content officer Ted Sarandos gave the verdict – they will not be picking up Agent Carter.
I was holding out hope for Peggy's return for sure but deep down I think I knew it wasn't going to happen. The reason is all business of course.
“We”re looking for truly original brands to own,” Sarandos said, “and in that Marvel space we already have [original comic book shows] – so that was mostly why.” While it's true, Netflix already has Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders set as series, most thought that meant it was only natural they should pick up another beloved Marvel product. While actor Hayley Atwell was already attached to a new ABC series, she said she'd do “whatever it takes” to make it happen”. EW gives a bit more to the story:
Netflix also tries to own and distribute its titles worldwide, releasing seasons globally and simultaneously, and the structure of Marvel”s existing international deals for Agent Carter made that tricky. “They also have some output deal complexities,” he adds. “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 its covered by their output [deals]. Unfortunately, it was a business decision more than a creative one.”
The fan petition sits at just over 127,931 signatures at time of publication and something tells me like Peggy, they won't let this latest obstacle stop them.
[UPDATE] Marvel's Jeph Loeb was asked by Entertainment Tonight if the show could be picked up elsewhere or if Peggy could pop up anywhere else. He said:
Anything is possible. It was not our choice to end Agent Carter. That's a decision that was made [by ABC]. I think sometimes it's challenging when you're a fan, because when you look at the movies, it looks like, “Let's go make this movie!” And they go make the movie. Whereas, in the television division, we have to wait for the network to say, “We want more of these.” In this particular case, for whatever their reasons, ABC did not order more Agent Carter. So, now we have this property and this unbelievably talented actress in Hayley [Atwell] and, you know. Nothing's impossible when Marvel's involved.