Yesterday, Marvel Television debuted the latest in its continuing slate of MCU related small screen fair, Agent Carter and like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., expectations were high. However, despite those expectations, Agent Carters premiere only managed to score a rather standard rating of 6 million viewers overall and a 1.9 in 18-49. Why the numbers matter, however, has less to do with the show itself (which is actually very good), but rather what certain vocal members of the community were claiming was the series biggest advantage over its modern day, Clark Gregg starring counterpart: Marvel Studios head, Kevin Feige.
Unlike all other Marvel Television fair, Agent Carter featured Feige in an executive producer role, with some rumors going so far as to say the Marvel top dog was in the editing room for much of Carters production. This fact, many claimed, is what was going to lead to massive success for Agent Carter, the likes of which S.H.I.E.L.D. could only dream of. However, as the ratings prove, Agent Carter couldnt even score better than the inflated premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that, back in 2013, kicked off its run with a rating of 12 million viewers overall with a 4.7 in 18-49. So the question becomes, does Feige matter at all to the goings on of Marvel Television? And the answer is no, because Marvel Television isnt about its lack of Feige, its about the Marvel brand.
While the various tent-pole films require a guiding hand and singular vision across decades at a time, Marvel Television requires multiple voices that tell different stories over the course of years. However, the connecting tissue of it all is Marvels brand: the same brand that launched Guardians of the Galaxy and is about to launch Ant-Man. The fact is, it doesnt really matter whos behind the scene of any given Marvel property because these stories are never about the creative, their about the company.
Agent Carters advantages, if any, are that its main character and world didnt have to be introduced to an unfamiliar audience because Captain America: The First Avenger already exists. Rather, the new ABC drama got to hit the ground running in a major way, a way that even Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. couldnt do because it had to introduce viewers to a wholly new ensemble never seen before in the MCU. What last nights ratings make clear is Marvel has found its dedicated fanbase that will show up for anything, and that fanbase is about 4-6 million strong which are numbers a company like Netflix Netflix can do masterful things with.
The latest from Marvel is in no way a failure it scored numbers that ABC can be very happy with for a January premiere thats filling a gap between runs of the timeslots primary series but its in no way a runaway success and the inclusion of Kevin Feige was never going to make one. Agent Carter is what it was always going to be: a very worthy companion toAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the expanding slate of Marvel branded ABC series.Right now, Marvel Television needs to continue making its focus about pleasing regular television watchers and the Marvel fanbase, not Feige fanboys, and so far theyve done a great job at it.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/01/07/agent-carter-ratings/
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