In a surprise to no one, ABC has ordered a full season of the new drama series Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Though the show has shed a considerable amount of its audience since its record-breaking debut, S.H.I.E.L.D. still manages to pull in decent numbers and generates a fair amount of buzz for each episode.  In a moviegoing climate where comic book adaptations are king and Marvel is the overlord, ABC would be crazy to not at least see how a full season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pans out.

Critics have not exactly been kind to the series for its first three episodes, and its supporting cast has thus far failed to be anything close to compelling, but hopefully the show overcomes these growing pains in the weeks to come.  The full season pick-up ensures that audiences will be treated to at least 22 episodes of Coulson and Co. (or Clone Coulson and Co.), assuming some catastrophic ratings drop doesn’t arise.  Catch up on Evan’s recap of the show’s first three episodes here and hit the jump for the full press release.

marvels-agents-of-shield-clark-gregg

Here’s the press release from ABC:

ABC ANNOUNCES FULL SEASON ORDER FOR “MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.”

ABC has picked up new hit drama “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” for a full season, it was announced today by Paul Lee, president, ABC Entertainment Group.

The series opened as TV’s highest-rated drama debut in nearly 4 years (since 11/03/09) and ranks as the No. 1 new show of the 2013-14 season among Adults 18-49 (4.0 Live + Same Day rating/5.7 Live + 3 Day rating). On average, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is No. 1 in its Tuesday, 8 o’clock time period, and has more than doubled the young adult delivery in the hour year-to-year (+150%).

“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Skye, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz and Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons.

“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Marvel’s first television series, was co-created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (“Dollhouse,” “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”), who also serve as executive producers along with Jeph Loeb (“Smallville,” “Lost,” “Heroes”) and Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,” “Alias”). “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television, and is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.