Two long-running superhero shows are ending soon. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which started eleven years ago is ending in 2021 while CW’s Arrow is ending in 2020.
In a recent interview with KTLA5 on Monday actor, Clark Gregg revealed that the show will end in 2021 with season seven. “Here I am, eleven years later,” he said. “We just started shooting the seventh, and final season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D in Culver City, and it’s been an incredible ride.” Deadline reports season six and seven are shooting back-to-back to reduce the cost.
AoS first aired on ABC September 24, 2013, and picked up after the events in Marvel’s The Avengers. It follows a team of special agents working for the long-time Marvel comic book organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division).
Here’s what we know about season six of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season six begins May of 2019, and the season will consist of 13 episodes. No date for the season seven premiere has been announced but it will premiere in 2020. All the regular cast are coming back including Agent Coulson who died (again) in the last season. He’s coming back as a new character. “We’re introduced to a new character who happens to have a very similar aesthetic to Coulson, so having that as a constant reminder in a way turns out to not be the easiest,” said Chloe Bennet who plays Daisy “Skye” Johnson aka Quake.
It’s not a huge surprise the show’s being canceled. While the show opened with a huge 12 million viewers the ratings have dropped into the single low single digits and season five, while critically acclaimed has the lowest ratings of all. In fact, there were rumors the show was being canceled before season five.
It’s kind of a sad end to a show that opened with promise. Marvel implied the show will continue the Cinematic Universe but so far has only had a handful of cameos from the movies. Several spin-offs for the series were in development including one following Bobbi Morse, a.k.a. Mockingbird with Adrian Palicki and Secret Warriors.
Meanwhile, according to star Stephan Amell, CW’s Arrow is ending this fall with season eight.
“Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life… but you can’t be a vigilante forever,” Amell announced on Twitter. “Arrow will return for a final run of 10 episodes this Fall. There’s so much to say… for now I just want to say thank you.”
The series premiered October 10, 2012, and followed the adventures of Oliver Queen a billionaire playboy who returns from a deserted island to bring justice to his city. It became a huge success for the network leading to several spin-off series including The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. The studio picked up and Supergirl a few years ago and incorporated it into the franchise. The show was known for it’s dark and violent take on the comic book character.
Amell revealed on Facebook Live that he wanted the series to end in season seven but agreed to remain to close out the series. He cited his personal and professional life as the reason to end the seires. He went from a relatively new 27-year old actor and a single guy to being a seasoned actor and a married guy with a child. He also wanted to live outside of Vancouver Canada where they film the series.
“This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we’ve made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind,” said showrunner Beth Schwartz and executive producers Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim in a joint statement Wednesday (via The Hollywood Reporter). “We’re heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come. We’re excited about crafting a conclusion that honors the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and – more importantly – the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years.”
Season eight opens in 2019 and will have a reduced run from 23 episodes to ten. This cancellation isn’t a huge surprise either since the ratings, while always respectable, have been dropping in recent years. Season one had an average 3.68 million viewers but by season six that dropped to 1.76 mil. The Elseworlds crossover teased the end of Oliver Queen. Plus, CW has always said there’s a limited number of series they’ll air at one time and Roby Rose’s Kate Kane aka Batwoman series is coming soon.
So it’s ending on a high note.
[Via Newsarama and Comic Book Movie]
What do you think of Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s cancellation? Let us know in the comments below!
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