Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter’ Premiere Upped to 2 Hours, Now A “Seven-Part Television Event”

Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do for Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter.’ Where late last week word from an ABC schedule broke that the ‘Captain America spinoff character would expand her January 6 premiere to a full two-hours, the network quickly denied the report. Now, Marvel has confirmed that ‘Agent Carter’ will indeed open on a full two-hour premiere, shortening the series’ run by one week.

That’s right, rather than premiere in the usual ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ slot on Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M., January 6 will see Peggy Carter premiering an hour earlier at 8:00 P.M., airing the series’ first two hours and moving to the latter timeslot the following week. Now billing the series as a “seven-part television event,” Marvel has since clarified to us that ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 2 will still return on March 3, despite the shift.

Here’s Marvel’s summary of the ‘Agent Carter’ series:

Years before Agent Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team swore to protect those who cannot protect themselves from threats they cannot conceive, there was Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), who pledged the same oath but lived in a different time when women weren’t recognized as being as smart or as tough as their male counterparts.

But no one should ever underestimate Peggy.

It’s 1946 and peace has dealt Peggy a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy finds herself stuck doing administrative work when she would rather be back out in the field; putting her vast skills into play and taking down the bad guys. But she is also trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life, Steve Rogers – aka Captain America.

When old acquaintance Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper, Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger”) finds himself being framed for unleashing his deadliest weapons to anyone willing to pony up the cash, he contacts Peggy - the only person he can trust - to track down those responsible, dispose of the weapons and clear his name. He empowers his butler, Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy, “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”), to be at her beck and call when needed to help assist her as she investigates and tracks down those responsible for releasing these weapons of mass destruction. But Jarvis, who is a creature of habit and sticks to a rigid daily routine, is going to have to make some major life changes if he’s going to be able to keep up with Peggy.

If caught going on these secret missions for Stark, Peggy could be targeted as a traitor and spend the rest of her days in prison – or worse. And as she delves deeper into her investigation, she may find that those she works for are not who they seem, and she might even begin to question whether Stark is as innocent as he claims.

Most recently adding ‘The Americans‘ star Costa Ronin as ‘Iron Man 2' villain Anton Vanko, Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter’ also features ‘Boardwalk Empire‘’s Shea Whigham as SSR boss Roger Dooley, ‘Nikita’ alum Lyndsy Fonseca as Peggy’s friend Angie Martinelli, James D’Arcy playing the human incarnation of Edwin Jarvis, and Chad Michael Murray and Whedon favorite Enver Gjokaj as Agents Thompson and Sousa, respectively. Its pilot will be directed by one-shot helmer Louis D’Esposito, with ‘The Winter Soldier”s  Russo brothers helming the second and third episodes, and ‘Captain America”s Joe Johnston likely the fourth.

You can check out the latest ‘Agent Carter’ sneak peeks and trailers below, and tell us in the comments what you want to see from Peggy’s 2-hour debut on January 6!