"Agents of SHIELD" kicked off its second season on Sept. 23 and has already covered a lot in just four episodes. At New York Comic Con, ComicBookResources.com caught up with Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb who dished on the new season and also explained its connection to "Agent Carter," which debuts in January.
Loeb said that the two TV shows will have a definite connection even though they take place in different time periods. Fans will see both of the main characters - "SHIELD's" agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and "Carter's" agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) - dealing with very similar struggles.
At the end of last season, Coulson was appointed as the director of SHIELD and has the task of rebuilding the organization by bringing in old friends and new agents.
"...Coulson has been tasked with this enormous job of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. What is it, who is it, what are the responsibilities and - most importantly - why is it?' Those are the things that weigh on his character and weigh on the stories that we're telling," Loeb told CBR.
In "Agent Carter," Peggy will have to decide if there should be a counterterrorism and intelligence agency.
"To then be able to go back to 1946 and see Peggy Carter deal with that same issue, which is, should there be - they don't even have a name for it yet - should there be an organization like this? To see that echo back and forth is tremendously fun and makes 'Carter' so relevant now even though it's a period piece," Loeb continued.
You can check out Loeb's full explanation below.
I can't reveal all of it, and there's the magical 'it's all connected,' but there was something really fun about being able to sit down at the beginning of the season and say, 'Okay, because of what happened last season, Coulson has been tasked with this enormous job of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. What is it, who is it, what are the responsibilities and - most importantly - why is it?'
Those are the things that weigh on his character and weigh on the stories that we're telling. To then be able to go back to 1946 and see Peggy Carter deal with that same issue, which is, should there be - they don't even have a name for it yet - should there be an organization like this? To see that echo back and forth is tremendously fun and makes 'Carter' so relevant now even though it's a period piece. We don't want anyone to feel like, 'Well, I don't know what the world was like back in 1946?' You don't have to care, just come on aboard and watch ['Agent Carter' lead] Hayley Atwell try to figure out the same things that Coulson is trying to figure out in present day - but the world is a different place.
So that kind of action, adventure and fun will feel very much like what we refer to as 'The Mothership,' but on its own has its own kind of flavor. That's very much like the movies. Our movies, 'Captain America' and 'Thor' and 'Iron Man,' are all very different films and yet, when you watch them together, it all feels like it's of a piece. That's the key to what we're trying to do.
"Agents of SHIELD" airs Tuesdays on ABC and "Agent Carter" debuts with eight episodes this January.
