While Marvel’s dark and gritty Netflix series continue their trek towardsThe Defenders, the superhero entertainment conglomerate is making moves to further expand their network offerings. In addition toAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.andAgent Carter, it was recently confirmedtheir next spin-off,Marvel’s Most Wanted, received a pilot order,Damage Controlis also moving ahead, andJohn Ridleysaid he’sdeveloping a mystery Marvel project. Now another comedy series is being eyed to join the fray.
Speaking withIGNat ABC’s 2016 winter TCA press tour party, ABC Entertainment Group PresidentPaul Leerevealed the existence of the other series beyondDamage Control. Though he wouldn’t go into further detail, he did say “in the long term, we’d love it to be” on ABC. He continued, “We definitely want to do Marvel comedies as well as dramas and, of course, as you know, we supply lots of dramas to Netflix.”
It’s hard to pinpoint what could be tapped for source material due to the overwhelmingly large universe with which Marvel has to play, but they’ve been making smart moves. The quality ofAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.is debatable;Joss Whedoneven said the TV team gets the films’ leftovers. Nevertheless,Hayley Atwell’s Carter has become a fan favorite and Netflix, with it’s less broad but equally hardcore streaming audience, brought a different side to Marvel’s heroes — superhero sex scenes, interracial relationships, blood-spitting fight sequences, and all!
It’s interesting when you look at the development of this line-up when compared to DC, which was the opposite — it was late to the live-action cinematic movie universe game, but had a string of popular and critically acclaimed series already airing. WhileArrowhas become more serious,The Flashand (based on what we’ve seen from the previews)Legends of Tomorrowhave maintained their comic relief. It seems as though Marvel is looking to bring the same eclectic genre selections to their TV slate. What DC doesn’t have, after all, is a straight-up superhero comedy.
