Ms. Marvel will be the first MCU show to air on network TV

Marvel Studios debuted WandaVision, the first-ever TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, back in 2021. Since then, in a very short amount of time, Disney+ has been flooded with MCU TV shows: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight and most recently Secret Invasion.

It’s a lot. And it sounds like fans are feeling the fatigue; the viewership numbers for Secret Invasion are as low as they’ve been for one of these series.

What’s Disney to do? Why not air some of these shows on network TV, where they can sell ads and make money like they used to? According to The Direct, that’s what the studio is doing with Ms. Marvel, a show about a young superhero named Kamala Khan.

Ms. Marvel will air on ABC in August

ABC will air all six episodes of Ms. Marvel over two nights:

Saturday, August 5

• Episode 1 – “Generation Why” – 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
• Episode 2 – “Crushed” – 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
• Episode 3 – “Destined” – 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, August 12

• Episode 4 – “Seeing Red” – 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
• Episode 5 – “Time and Again” – 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
• Episode 6 – “No Normal” – 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET

As The Direct points out, part of the reason Disney is doing this is likely to get people ready for The Marvels, a new movie where Kamala Khan will appear alongside Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). But I wonder if it isn’t also an attempt to recoup some of the costs of producing the show that Disney isn’t making back by simply charging people for Disney+ subscriptions.

Secret Invasion somehow cost Disney $212 million to make

After all, the profitability of streaming services is one of the issues at the center of the current strikes that have shut down Hollywood. At the advent of the streaming age, studios like Disney put all of their efforts into increasing subscriber numbers…but now that they’ve done that, they’re more interested in making money. And it ends up that this is harder said than done under this model.

For instance, we recently learned that Secret Invasion cost Disney $212 million to make. If you’ve watched it, the thought you may have right now is, “How?” The show looks nice enough, and there have been a couple of big action scenes, but a lot of it is just people talking in rooms. Where is that money going?

And given the show’s comparatively low ratings, Secret Invasion may not be making back that money on Disney+ alone. I wonder if Disney will air this show on network TV sometime, as well. They may have no choice.

The Marvels star Iman Vellani writing new Ms. Marvel comic

To end on a cheerier note, Iman Vellani — who plays Ms. Marvel on the show — is teaming up with writer Sabir Pirzada to write a new Ms. Marvel comic: Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant.

The title is a reference to the end of the TV show, where it was implied that Kamala is in fact a mutant, which could pave the way for the X-Men to enter the MCU. “This was way scarier than joining the MCU for me,” Vellani told Entertainment Weekly. “Those projects feel like they live in their own dimension, so I guess I can separate myself easier. But you can hold a comic book! I’ve never written anything before in my entire life, but I have read many comics, so I just wrote what I would want to read. I was given a very professional tool to write what is essentially my own fan fiction.”

"Oh my God, I love it. You can do anything with those stretchy powers. I like to make it a little vague enough for the artist to surprise me when I get the sketches back, and they always do. It’s honestly so liberating to be able to pitch ideas and everything gets accepted because they can just draw it. There’s no need to worry about budgets or effects."

Ms. Marvel actually died recently in the pages of Marvel Comics, but superheroes are famously resistant to death, so it’s no surprise to hear that her adventures will continue.

The first issue of Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant hits store shelves on August 30.

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