'Agent Carter' EP on Why a Netflix Revival Might Not Work

ABC may have cancelled Agent Carter in 2016 after two seasons, but fan support for the character [...]

ABC may have cancelled Agent Carter in 2016 after two seasons, but fan support for the character or the show has never waned. Fans continue to hope for the series to make its way back to screens on another network or even Netflix, but according to executive producer Jose Molina there are reasons why it just might not work.

Molina recently spoke with Den of Geek about his television career and explained that while the cast and writers for Agent Carter would gladly return to the project, it just might not be a fit for Netflix due to two primary concerns: ratings and the lack of a shared universe with Netflix's other Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings.

"I think the creative team would all line up to return -- the cast, the writers, etc. -- it would just be a matter of finding an outlet interested in airing the show," Molina said. "Given the series' ratings when it aired on ABC, finding that outlet seems like a bit of a long shot. It would be lovely to think that Netflix (home to so many awesome Marvel shows) would pick it up, but their shows all share a common universe and timeline that Carter doesn't share. Creatively these shows tend to be very dark, and Agent Carter just doesn't have dark and brooding in its DNA."

Both are valid points. Neither season of Agent Carter received particularly high ratings, though some critics blamed those poor ratings on a variety of issues, including poor promotion for the show's second season and questionable scheduling choices. As for the dark and brooding element, it's true that Agent Carter did have a lighter tone than what fans are accustomed to with Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. However, both of those concerns could be overcome especially where the tone of the show is concerned. Given the setting of Agent Carter -- post World War II and the beginning of the Cold War -- there'd be plenty of room for darker elements in the series without sacrificing its heart.

Despite Molina's comments, there continues to be support for an Agent Carter revival even from Marvel TV itself. Jeph Loeb was asked by fans during a recent Reddit AMA when the show would get its revival and Loeb's reply was encouraging.

"Wouldn't that be cool? Find us a network! Hayley [Atwell] has been so kind of saying she'd love to come back."

Atwell herself has been vocal about wanting to return herself and previously told The AV Club that Marvel didn't want the series to end, either.

"You know, Marvel didn't want it to end," Atwell said. "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."

What do you think? Do you think Agent Carter could be successful on Netflix even with the tone and mood differences from other MCU series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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