Two popular genre shows with unclear futures just got some good news. A third did not.
The cast of Agents of SHIELD, who are all still employed. Image: ABC
ABC just announced it’s bringing back Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD for a fifth season and Once Upon A Time for a seventh season. Both shows averaged about four and a half million viewers per episode this year, which isn’t particularly good or bad. Each show knew this season could be their last — but now, it won’t be.
Unfortunately, NBC has just cancelled Powerless, the Vanessa Hudgens/Alan Tudyk DC Comics superhero comedy. After undergoing a bit of a reboot after its pilot, the show garnered only about two million viewers in its most recently-aired episode, with two final episodes yet to air.
As for the returning shows, each finds itself in a unique place. SHIELD remains part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, with shows like Inhumans coming soon, as well as God-knows-what in the movies, their story can continue to expand.
Once Upon a Time, on the other hand, is a bit shakier. This news comes right after the announcement that lead actress Jennifer Morrison will not be coming back to the show. Many fans thought that might mean the fairy tale drama itself was ending but, now that we know it’s not, it should be interesting to see if her character’s storyline is wrapped up in the season finale, or off camera next year. Either way, it seems those rumours of a soft reboot for season seven were true.