ABC has made a bit of a surprise announcement and has already picked up Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a seventh season.
Why a surprise? Every season has felt like the show was on the cusp of cancelation, so a season 7 renewal before season 6 has even debuted is a definite surprise. The belief is this early renewal solves a few problems, namely to do with actor options. Additionally, both season 6 and 7 will be summer shows of only 13 episodes each. This early pickup would allow them to shoot back-to-back and lead to tremendous cost savings.
One interesting note is that the announcement failed to list Clark Gregg as a castmember. At the end of season 5, he appeared to walk off with Ming-Na Wen’s Agent May. His absence from the announcement could be to leave fans wondering. It’s difficult to imagine Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without Agent Coulson.
No premiere date for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6 has been announced yet beyond ‘Summer 2019.’
