Why Netflix Didn't Want To Add Agent Carter To Its Marvel Lineup After ABC Canceled It

By Eammon Parks Jacobs
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter with long brown hair and red lipstick, while wearing 1940s era red hat and a blue jacket. ABC/Marvel

The TV side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn't always confined to streaming. At one point, Marvel's "Agent Carter" had an enthusiastic but relatively limited following on primetime network TV. ABC canceled the series after two seasons in 2016 due to low viewing figures. It was especially disappointing since the writers gave star Hayley Atwell plenty of room to explore Peggy Carter's character. But Netflix twisted the knife in deeper by refusing to add the post-World War II spy thriller to its line of Marvel shows from that era, which included street-level series like "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones."

Netflix reportedly wasn't interested in picking up superhero shows from other networks, as former CEO Ted Sarandos told Entertainment Weekly in 2016: "We're looking for truly original brands to own and in that Marvel space we already have [original comic book shows]."

"Agent Carter" definitely has a distinctly family-friendly vibe to it compared to the dark and gritty Marvel Netflix shows. To be fair, though, it wasn't as if fans were suddenly asking for Peggy Carter to miraculously show up on "The Punisher" — they just wanted the story to continue.

Agent Carter Season 3 would have explored the Carter family further

Max Brown as Michael Carter, with slicked back brown hair and a 1940s-era British army uniform. ABC/Marvel

Like any of the best superhero shows, the writers already had plans for "Agent Carter" Season 3 when ABC decided to cancel the series. Hayley Atwell spoke to CinemaBlend about the canceled storyline in 2016, saying, "There was talk of Season 3 of going further back into her past. So, the showrunners were talking about a possible kind of twist, I suppose, into something to do with the family."

She added: "They suggested there would be more to do with my brother." Peggy Carter's brother, Michael (Max Brown), faked his death and was later involved in shady operations. Sadly, the show was never picked up by Netflix or any other network — although Atwell returned as Carter in other Marvel projects. She even picked up a vibranium shield of her own for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" as Britain's own super soldier, Captain Carter.

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