Ratings: ‘Agents of SHIELD’ ties ‘Chicago Fire,’ raises more questions about future

Let this once again be a lesson to anyone who makes a net TV show: It’s awesome to come into it with a ton of hype and some phenomenal ratings, but if you want people to actually stay around, you have to make it good. While “Agents of SHIELD” may have Clark Gregg and Coulson and all of his glory, it doesn’t have much else. The show just isn’t as engaging as it should be or as viewers thought it would be; you can argue the point all you want if you’re a fan of diehard TV, but the proof is in the ratings.

Take the numbers from Tuesday night just released. which show “Agents of SHIELD” only at a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This is significantly behind “NCIS,” a few ticks behind “NCIS: Los Angeles,” tied with “Chicago Fire,” and just slightly ahead of “The Biggest Loser.” “Sons of Anarchy” is sure to beat it when its numbers are released a little later than the day, and this is for a show that actually challenged “The Voice” when it first came on the air this fall.

So is there any real hope of turning this ship around, and suddenly getting people to watch? We almost think that you’re going to need something more than a few mentions of Thor and the Hulk; you may actually need a cameo from Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, or Chris Evans as Captain America. It has to be something to make those people who are willing to pay $10 plus concessions to attend a movie willing to spend nothing to watch the show at home; the fact that they have not been able to do that as of late is troubling, and it’s clearly not “there is something else on TV” or any other excuse you want to give.

Then again, there is a larger problem when it comes to network TV in general. “New Girl” hit a series low with a 1.7, and the only shows on the night that were truly impressive were “Chicago Fire” (rising after a few weeks), “The Originals” (still getting a 1.1 rating), and also “Supernatural” (staying at a 1.0).

Luckily, “Agents of SHIELD” does at least have that much-hyped “Thor: The Dark World” crossover coming next week. You can watch a preview for it here, and we’ll have more details soon.