Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 set for Summer 2019 premiere

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

If you thought that season five of MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. would be the comic book program's swan song, you'd better think again, because ABC has recently announced that the show will be getting a sixth, abbreviated season. While this is no doubt joyous news for fans of the series, it does come with a bit of a catch. The next season of MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. won't reach the airwaves until the Summer of 2019, and will consist of a shortened 13-episode length. Furthermore, according to ABC, the team-oriented drama will not return until after the release of AVENGERS 4, which is scheduled to arrive on May 3rd of next year.

Recently, during an Upfronts Week press call, ABC president Channing Dungey, told TVLine that the Summer time slot was entirely ABC's idea, and does not necessarily coincide with whatever Joe and Anthony Russo have planned for their AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR follow-up. “Whatever they [at Marvel Studios] have planned, I cannot say,” she confessed.

As the interview continued, Dungey was asked to comment about the nature of the show's first-ever shortened run, and whether or not it will serve as the end to the series. With confidence, Dungey responded by saying "I feel like Season 5 was their creatively strongest yet, so I don’t at the moment have any plans to think of Season 6 as the last season.”

Oh, but that's not all. Dungey also added this bit of information to her comment. “What we’ve discovered is that we have a very loyal and passionate fan base for S.H.I.E.L.D. The show does incredibly well for us in delayed viewing,” Dungey explained. “By putting it in the summer, we’re going to be able to ‘super-serve’ the fan base that loves that show and hopefully give it an opportunity to continue on longer than we would if it was [scheduled] in-season.” Ah ha, so the delayed Summer slot could act as a positive for the show. I'm picking up what you're putting down, Dungey. Very sly, indeed.

While I've fallen away from MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. in recent times, my wife has assured me that the show is at the top of its game, and that I should make the time to catch up. I'm sure that she's not alone in this notion, as many fans have taken to social media to express their love for the show, in the hope that ABC execs will allow it to continue, or, at the very least, end with a proper goodbye.

Where do you stand with MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.? Are you still watching the show? Do you think it's still an important part of the Marvel money-making machine? Would you like to see characters from the series make their way into the MCU proper? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Source: Variety, TVLine

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.