Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"We are not agents of nothing, we are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and that still carries weight! That has to carry weight! After everthing we've been through, that carries weight!"

- Phil Coulson

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is an American television series, based on the famous Marvel Comics organization. It is produced by Marvel Television and airs on the ABC network, and is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films in that franchise. The pilot, which was written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Joss Whedon, reached an audience of almost 12 million viewers.

It is set after the events of The Avengers and Iron Man 3 and ties in with Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War.

On May 8, 2014, it was renewed for a second season.

On July 15, 2014, it was announced that the second season would begin on September 23rd.

On September 9, 2014, the DVD and Blu-Ray of season 1 was released.

On May 7, 2015, it was renewed for a third season. On June 10, 2015, it was announced that the third season premiered on September 29, 2015.

On September 18, 2015, the DVD and Blu-Ray of season 2 was released.

On March 3, 2016, the series was renewed for a fourth season. On June 28, 2016, it was announced that the fourth season premiered on September 20, 2016.

Season One
Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash The Avengers, Agent Phil Coulson returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D.. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet, the new, the strange and the unknown.

That team consists of straight arrow Agent Grant Ward, an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May; and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz and Agent Jemma Simmons. They’ll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye.

Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual – of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents – that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

Season Two
After helping to thwart HYDRA, Coulson was appointed as Director, and tasked with rebuilding the agency. This won't be an easy job to accomplish with the majority of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents either killed, secretly working for HYDRA or free agents.

Agent Melinda May, expert pilot, martial artist and longtime friend, will continue to look after Coulson in the wake of the mysterious etchings he's been carving into walls. What do these etchings mean, and can Coulson be trusted? Grant Ward, highly trained in combat and espionage, was found to be a HYDRA mole and a traitor to S.H.I.E.L.D. and locked up away from the world and his former teammates.

But this isn't the last we've seen of him... After being left in the middle of the ocean by Ward, Agent Leo Fitz, brilliant engineer, and Agent Jemma Simmons, genius bio-chemist, found a way to escape their watery grave. But all did not go well for Fitz, who was left in a coma and may never regain his full cognitive functions; a devastating blow to Simmons.

And computer hacker Skye, now a full-fledged S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, discovered her origins as an 0-8-4 -- an object of unknown origin - and that her parents were considered "monsters." Could Skye have darkness lying dormant inside of her? Also joining Coulson's core team is Lance Hunter, a dashing mercenary sharp shooter with a quick wit. Since he didn't rise up through the ranks, does he have an ulterior motive for helping out the team? Who can Coulson trust?

Season Three
"Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” returns for an action-packed third season, with Director Phil Coulson and Agent Daisy Johnson leading the charge as S.H.I.E.L.D. searches the world for more powered people in the aftermath of their epic battle with Jiaying and her army of Inhumans. However, Coulson and the team soon find out that they are not the only group looking for these new Inhumans.

Many months after their war with a rogue group of Inhumans, the team is still reeling. Coulson is again trying to put the pieces of his once revered organization back together while also dealing with the loss of his hand. His confidante and second in command, Agent Melinda May, has yet to return from an impromptu vacation with ex-husband Andrew; deadly superspy Agent Bobbi Morse is recovering from her traumatic torture at the hands of Grant Ward; Fitz is obsessed with discovering the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Simmons; and all are on high-alert for the next move from Ward and HYDRA.

Ever since the existence of Super Heroes and aliens became public knowledge after the Battle of New York, the world has been trying to come to grips with this new reality. Coulson assembled a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division). S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mission: to protect those who cannot protect themselves from threats they cannot conceive.

But bigger threats loom ahead, setting the stakes even higher for the Agents, including the spread of Terrigen, an alien substance that unlocks superhuman abilities in select individuals; the emergence of new Inhumans who cannot yet control nor understand their powers; the rise of a new government organization that will go toe-to-toe with S.H.I.E.L.D.; the unknown properties of the massive alien Kree Monolith, which has taken one of their own; and the constant threat of a rebuilt HYDRA terrorist organization under S.H.I.E.L.D. traitor Grant Ward, who is making it his personal mission to take down Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D.

New faces, both friend and foe, will join the series, including the no-nonsense, highly-skilled and somewhat mysterious leader of the ATCU (Advanced Threat Containment Unit), her intimidating partner, Luther Banks, Lash, a monstrous Inhuman whose loyalties remain ambiguous, and new Inhuman Joey, who is struggling to harness his newfound abilities, among other surprising characters.

Coulson, with the help of Daisy and Mack, will work to slowly assemble a team that is stronger than ever before, combining the highly skilled Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with powered individuals in the hopes of protecting the innocent in a world where the balance of power is ever-shifting, and new dangers are constantly emerging.

Ghost Rider
In the aftermath of their journey to another planet, Director Phil Coulson and the rest of the team were driven more than ever to put an end to the HYDRA organization. Little did they know that they were up against the deadliest threat they’ve ever faced--an extremely powerful Inhuman, Hive, who was transported back from Maveth in the body of their worst enemy, Grant Ward. The team was able to thwart and kill Hive and take down HYDRA, but they are all still mourning the death of fellow agent and Inhuman, Lincoln Campbell.

In light of the Sokovia Accords, and with HYDRA obliterated, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been legitimatized again and no longer needs to operate in the shadows. Since the world presumes that Coulson is dead, the organization needed a new Director to be the face of the organization.

Coulson finds himself back in the role as an agent and teamed with Mack, and together they are tasked with tracking down and confirming the presence of Enhanced people, aka Inhumans. They have been trying to track down and capture Daisy, aka Quake, who has gone rogue in an attempt to atone for sins from the past.

But with the world believing that Daisy is a dangerous outlaw who has taken down banks and bridges, the new Director has no qualms about taking her down for good.

Agent May is tasked with training specialist strike teams and Fitz and Simmons have taken a big step forward in their relationship. But with Simmons’ new promotion as Special Advisor to the Director in Science and Technology, Fitz, as well as her former team members, finds it hard to confide in or trust her since she’s now the Director’s confidant.

Robbie Reyes will roar into the lives of Agent Coulson and the team as a junkyard mechanic who can turn on a dime into the terrifying Ghost Rider. Will Robbie be a friend or foe to S.H.I.E.L.D. – as well as the world, itself? Meanwhile, Fitz discovers that socially awkward genius and friend Dr. Radcliffe has started putting the finishing touches on a new, secret invention.

LMD
On the heels of their encounter with Ghost Rider, their strangest phenomenon yet, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. suddenly find themselves up against a myriad of new and ongoing threats: The anti-Inhuman Watchdogs are gaining political influence with Senator Nadeer, and uniting behind a mysterious benefactor. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the team, Aida has kidnapped Agent May and replaced her with a Life Model Decoy. Aida's evil plans for May and the team remain a mystery.

Starring Cast

 * Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson (Seasons 1-4)
 * Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May (Seasons 1-4)
 * Brett Dalton as Grant Ward † (Seasons 1-3) and Hive † (Season 3)
 * Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson/Quake (Seasons 1-4)
 * Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons (Seasons 1-4)
 * Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz (Seasons 1-4)
 * Nick Blood as Lance Hunter (Seasons 2-3)
 * Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse (Seasons 2-3)
 * Henry Simmons as Alphonso Mackenzie (Seasons 3-4; Recurring Season 2)
 * Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell † (Season 3; Recurring Season 2)
 * John Hannah as Holden Radcliffe (Season 4; Recurring Season 3)

Recurring Cast

 * J. August Richards as Michael Peterson/Deathlok (Seasons 1-2)
 * David Conrad as Ian Quinn (Season 1)
 * Ruth Negga as Raina † (Seasons 1-2)
 * Saffron Burrows as Victoria Hand † (Season 1)
 * Max Osinski as Davis (Seasons 1, 4)
 * Christine Adams as Anne Weaver (Seasons 1-2)
 * Bill Paxton as John Garrett † (Season 1)
 * B.J. Britt as Antoine Triplett † (Seasons 1-2)
 * Adrian Pasdar as Glenn Talbot (Seasons 1-4)
 * Patton Oswalt as Eric Koenig †/ Billy Koenig/ Sam Koenig (Seasons 1-2, 4)
 * Reed Diamond as Daniel Whitehall † (Seasons 2-3)
 * Simon Kassianides as Sunil Bakshi † (Season 2)
 * Kyle MacLachlan as Calvin Zabo (Season 2)
 * Maya Stojan as Agent 33 † (Season 2)
 * Dichen Lachman as Jiaying † (Season 2)
 * Jamie Harris as Gordon † (Season 2)
 * Blair Underwood as Andrew Garner † (Seasons 2-3)
 * Edward James Olmos as Robert Gonzales † (Season 2)
 * Mark Allan Stewart as Oliver † (Season 2)
 * Alicia Vela-Bailey as Alisha Whitley † (Seasons 2-3)
 * Daz Crawford as Kebo † (Seasons 2-3)
 * Juan Pablo Raba as Joey Gutierrez (Season 3)
 * Constance Zimmer as Rosalind Price † (Season 3)
 * Andrew Howard as Luther Banks † (Season 3)
 * Matthew Willig as Lash † (Season 3)
 * Spencer Treat Clark as Werner von Strucker (Season 3)
 * Mark Dacascos as Giyera † (Season 3)
 * Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez (Seasons 3-4)
 * Axle Whitehead as JT James/Hellfire (Seasons 3-4)
 * Mallory Jansen as Aida (Season 4)
 * Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider (Season 4)
 * Lorenzo James Henrie as Gabe Reyes (Season 4)
 * Lilli Birdsell as Lucy Bauer † (Season 4)
 * Jason O'Mara as Jeffrey Mace (Season 4)
 * Parminder Nagra as Ellen Nadeer (Season 4)
 * Blaise Miller as Nathanson † (Season 4)
 * José Zúñiga as Eli Morrow † (Season 4)
 * Patrick Cavanaugh as Burrows (Season 4)

Marvel Cinematic Universe Guest Stars

 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (Season 1)
 * Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill (Seasons 1-2)
 * Titus Welliver as Felix Blake (Seasons 1, 3)
 * Maximiliano Hernández as Jasper Sitwell † (Season 1)
 * Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif (Seasons 1-2)
 * Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter † (Season 2)
 * Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan (Season 2)
 * Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita † (Season 2)
 * Henry Goodman as List † (Season 2)
 * Powers Boothe as Gideon Malick † (Season 3)
 * William Sadler as Matthew Ellis (Season 3)

Behind the Scenes

 * Joss Whedon stated: "It's new characters. It needs to be its own thing. It needs to be adjacent, but you don't want to do a show where you're constantly going, 'Iron Man just left, but he was totally here a minute ago.' You want them to do their own thing. What does S.H.I.E.L.D. got that the heroes don't have? To me, it's that they're not superheroes. But they live in that universe. Even though they're a big organization, that makes them underdogs and that's interesting to me."
 * Joss Whedon talked about the tone of the series: "I’m excited about the show because it’s a very hopeful show. It’s not about murder, and it’s not about crime, and it’s not people looking into their own belly buttons. It’s about people who are trying to help each other, and that’s one of the things I loved about comic books. They had costumes and the villains were cool [but] they stood for something, and I like doing a show that does that. We’re trying very hard to be true to [Marvel's] ethos and also to the structure of their universe. So it is definitely a Marvel show."
 * A spinoff show starring Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood as Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter had been planned and advertised. Labeled as Most Wanted, it has been confirmed that ABC did not pick up the show after all, and the idea has been shelved.