List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series
The Marvel Cinematic Universe television series are American superhero television shows based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. They are set in, or inspired by, the shared universe of the MCU film franchise. The MCU first expanded to television after the creation of Marvel Television in 2010, with that studio producing 12 series alongside ABC Studios and its production division ABC Signature Studios. These premiered across broadcast, streaming, and cable television on ABC, Netflix and Hulu, and Freeform, respectively. The main ABC series were inspired by the films and featured film characters, and were referred to as the "Marvel Heroes" series. A connected group of series for Netflix were called the "Marvel Knights" series, and crossed over with each other. Young adult-focused series were produced for Freeform and Hulu, while the latter also had a group of series called "Adventure into Fear" planned before Marvel Television was shut down in December 2019. Marvel Studios—the production studio behind the films—began producing their own series for the streaming service Disney+ in 2018, with at least eight series in development. These are focused on supporting characters from the films, have much larger budgets than Marvel Television series, and interconnect with the films in a way that the Marvel Television series did not. Following the end of Marvel Television's series on ABC, that network expressed interest in working with Marvel Studios to produce future broadcast Marvel series.
Development
In June 2010, Marvel Television was launched with Jeph Loeb as head. The studio began producing television series inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe film franchise, though it had to be aware of Marvel Studios' plans for the films so as not to interfere when introducing someone or something to the universe. Joss Whedon, who directed The Avengers for Marvel Studios before co-creating Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for Marvel Television, described the relationship between the MCU television series and films as the series getting "leftovers" from the films. In August 2015, Marvel Studios was integrated into The Walt Disney Studios with President Kevin Feige reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter, while Marvel Television remained under Perlmutter's control. This was seen as widening the existing divide between the Marvel film and television divisions, and making it even less likely that the films would acknowledge the series' events and characters. By September 2018, Marvel was developing several limited series for Disney's new streaming service Disney+, to be centered on characters from the MCU films. The series would be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, with Feige taking a "hands-on role" in each series' development, focusing on "continuity of story" with the films and "handling" the actors who would be reprising their roles from the films. Loeb stated that Marvel Television would continue to develop new MCU series, including their own Disney+ series. By September 2019, many of Marvel Television's existing series were cancelled or ending, and several developing projects did not move forward. Variety reported that the industry perception of these events was that Marvel Television was being phased out in favor of the new Marvel Studios series, which had access to well-known MCU characters and much larger budgets than Marvel Television series ever had. A month later, Feige was named Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, with Marvel Television moving under Marvel Studios and executives of Marvel Television reporting to Feige. At the end of October, Loeb was expected to leave Marvel by the end of the year. In December, Feige referred to the Marvel Studios series as "a new type of cinematic that we haven't done before", and indicated that he considered them the first MCU stories on television by saying "for the first time... the MCU will be on your TV screen at home on Disney+ and interconnect with the movies and go back and forth". The next day, Marvel Television announced that it would complete work on its existing television series but would stop developing new projects. The division was set to shut down, with several executives moving to Marvel Studios to oversee the completion of existing series including executive producer Karim Zreik. Other staff were laid off, while Loeb was set to remain with the company until the handover was completed. Zreik left Marvel Studios in June 2020 to become the head of television for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, whose projects include several Marvel-based series for Sony Pictures Television that are intended to connect to the superhero films of the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters.
Marvel Television
ABC series
The first television series that Marvel Television developed to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; it was ordered to pilot by ABC in August 2012. In January 2014, the series Agent Carter was announced; it was canceled in May 2016. That November, Marvel and IMAX Corporation announced Inhumans, based on the species of the same name, after a planned film starring the characters was removed from Marvel Studios' slate. ABC canceled the series in May 2018. In July 2019, the seventh season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was announced to be its last. Loeb explained a month later that Marvel categorized its ABC series as the "Marvel Heroes" series due to their close connections to the MCU films, especially with the main characters of both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter having originated in films.
Netflix series
By October 2013, Marvel was preparing four drama series and a miniseries to present to video on demand services and cable providers, with Netflix, Amazon, and WGN America expressing interest. That November, it was announced that Disney would provide Netflix with live-action series based on Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders. In April 2016, Marvel and Netflix ordered The Punisher as a spin-off from Daredevil. Netflix had canceled all of their Marvel series by the end of February 2019, ending their partnership with Marvel Television but continuing to stream the existing seasons. Loeb stated in August 2019 that when categorizing Marvel Television's wider slate, the Netflix series are referred to internally as the "Marvel Street-Level Heroes" or "Marvel Knights".
At San Diego Comic-Con 2011, Loeb announced a series based on the Marvel Comics charactersCloak and Dagger was in development; Freeform ordered the project to series in April 2016. That August, Hulu ordered a new series based on the comics group the Runaways. Marvel initially said there were no plans to crossover these series, but Cloak and Dagger were announced to be appearing in the third season of Runaways in August 2019. Loeb explained that Marvel categorized Runaways and Cloak & Dagger as its "YA", or "young adult", franchise, and said Marvel Television's push into the young adult genre was in response to Marvel Studios doing the same with Spider-Man. Loeb hoped there would be further crossovers between the two series, but Cloak and Dagger was canceled in October 2019, followed by Runaways that November.
Adventure into Fear
Hulu ordered two series based on Ghost Rider and the siblings Daimon and Ana Helstrom straight-to-series in May 2019. The intention was to build an interconnected universe between the two series in a similar fashion to Marvel's Netflix shows. Marvel initially referred to the series as the cornerstone of the "Spirits of Vengeance", with Loeb adding that they were moving into a new, "chilling" corner of the Marvel Universe. Loeb said in August that Marvel was now referring to these series collectively as "Adventure into Fear", and that more series under the banner were in development. A month later, Hulu decided to no longer move forward with Ghost Rider due to creative differences. When Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios in December, the studio said that production on Helstrom would be completed but no further series would be developed.
By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing several limited series centered on "second tier" characters from the MCU films who had not and were unlikely to star in their own films; the actors who portrayed the characters in the films reprise their roles for the limited series. In March 2019, Feige said the series would take characters from the films, change them, and see those changes reflected in future films; new characters introduced in the series could also go on to appear in films. During the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige announced The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, What If...?, and Hawkeye as part of Marvel Studios' slate alongside several films. At D23 Expo 2019, Feige announced Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk as also part of Phase Four. The series budgets are reportedly $100–150 million each.
Potential ABC series
After the shut down of Marvel Television, ABC said that it remained committed to featuring Marvel content. In January 2020, ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said that talks were beginning with Feige and Marvel Studios about what a Marvel Studios series on ABC would be, but she noted that Marvel's focus was on the Disney+ series.
