ABC picks up Joss Whedon’s ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’

ABC has given a series order to Joss Whedon’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.�

Making a fashionably late entrance to the pickup/renewal party, ABC has started making its announcements for its 2013-2014 lineup. And it’s doing so with a bang, giving a series order to the Whedon drama based on the Marvel Comics property.

Clark Gregg will reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films, including “The Avengers.� In the series, his character assembles a band of agents from a law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. that will work together, “protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.�

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The project was first announced in August and seemed a shoe-in to make it on the network’s roster with Whedon on board. He was tapped to co-pen the pilot alongside his brother Jed Whedon and Jed’s wife Maurissa Tancharoen (the trio have worked together before on the Web series “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog�). They will also serve as executive producers on the show. Whedon also directed the pilot.

And the network isn’t wasting any time drumming up interest in the drama. A first look at the series will air during the season finale of “Once Upon A Time� this Sunday.

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