This afternoon ABC - following in FOX and NBC's footsteps - has announced a full 22-episode season order for its highest rated new drama series - Tuesday night's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Based on the Marvel Comics secret intelligence organization, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a spinoff of the successful The Avengers franchise starring fan favorite Clark Gregg reprising his role of Agent Phil Coulson. On the series, he assembles a ragtag group of SHIELD agents to investigate newly emerging superhuman individuals and artifacts throughout the world.
The series stars Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge, with Cobie Smulders and Samual L. Jackson already making cameo appearances as their characters from the movie franchise in the pilot and second episode respectively.
Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen co-created the series. They executive produce alongside Jeph Loeb and Jeffrey Bell. ABC Studios and Marvel Television produce the drama.
The series opened on Tuesday, September 24 with a 4.7 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic - the highest premiere number for a new series since Fall 2009. The series fell in its second week to a 3.3 and then again in week three to a 2.9. However, the series currently ranks as the No. 1 new series of the 2013-2014 season among Adults 18-49 (4.0 Live+Same Day, 5.7 Live+3).
