Marvel TV folded into Marvel Studios
Earlier this week, Marvel announced it would roll its TV unit into Marvel Studios. No further development will come from the unit.
Marvel TV Merges With Marvel Studios
The Hollywood Reported posted:
Marvel Television has a new home.
The TV arm of Marvel Entertainment is being folded into the Marvel Studios group. Current development — Hulu’s slate of animated comedies and live-action drama Helstrom — will remain on course. However, no further development will come from the unit overseen by Jeph Loeb. The exec, who launched Marvel into live-action scripted TV originals as head of Marvel Television, will remain on board during the transition. It is unclear when Loeb’s last day will be. His departure from Marvel has been expected since late October.
Marvel TV senior vp current programming and production Karim Zreik and members of his team will join the Marvel Studios group. He will continue to oversee current projects in production. Layoffs are expected to come as select roles will be eliminated in the near-term as a result of the reduction in volume. Sources say a couple dozen employees will be let go from the company.
Current Marvel TV Programs Will Be Completed Via Marvel Studios
Of the move, Deadline reported:
“The decision has been made to complete Marvel TV projects that are currently in production, but not continue with any further development,” noted the TV division Tuesday.
[The] news follows months of turmoil and uncertainty at Marvel TV with a number of animated and live-action shows teetering or canned, the exit of longtime small screen chief Loeb and the further expansion of big-screen boss Kevin Feige’s fiefdom.
The announcement back in late October that the four-time Eisner Award winner and veteran producer Loeb would be officially out the door at the end of the year now seems but one of many dominos to fall on Marvel TV. One further wrinkle in today’s news is that Loeb might be around a bit longer than expected, as he is said to be on decks for the handover.
End of an Era
The first season of Daredevil was groundbreaking.
Marvel TV reached its critical and commercial peak with its Netflix shows. [Those included] Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. But interest in the TV shows slowly dwindled.
[I]t became clear that its tagline “It’s All Connected” was a false hope. Marvel Studios barely acknowledged Marvel TV characters, and a slew of cancellations of the popular Netflix shows proved to be the nail in the coffin. With Marvel Studios launching its own slate of TV shows featuring MCU stars on Disney+, making the existence of Marvel TV redundant.
It’s kind of fitting that Marvel TV will end its divisive era with the final season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; which is set to air on ABC in 2020. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the last stronghold for Marvel TV, and with the cancellation of the planned Ghost Rider spin-off series on Hulu, as well as halting of Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger and the final season of The Runaways moving to Disney+, the shuttering of Marvel TV was written in the cards.
Long Live Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started strong.
Hey, I loved first couple of seasons of AOS and Daredevil; even Jessica Jones. HOWEVER, the production value on many other shows could not conform with the look and feel of the MCU.
I mean, what could?
Sure, I always appreciated the effort of the writers to fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, too often these shows felt like they were off in a completely disparate universe (or simply lost in space).
Maybe the forced integration of the TV unit will help align future projects; both in an in-universe sense and in the quality of the programming and production. However, if they can’t properly integrate the programs into the greater MCU, I’d rather they not try.
Be sure to tell us what you think about the Marvel merger in the comments!
