Ana Jarvis

'' Agent Carter'' is an American television series created for ABC by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, inspired by the 2011 film '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', and the 2013 Marvel One-Shot short film of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The first season, consisting of eight episodes, originally aired from January 6 to February 24, 2015, while the second season, consisting of ten episodes, originally aired from January 19 to March 1, 2016. ''Agent Carter'' was canceled by ABC on May 12, 2016.

The series features the Marvel Comics character Peggy Carter, with Hayley Atwell reprising her role from the film series and One-Shot, as she must balance life as a secret agent with that of a single woman in 1940s America. Also starring is James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis, butler to Howard Stark who joins Carter for her missions, developing a strong platonic relationship with her. The pair are joined by series regulars Chad Michael Murray as Jack Thompson and Enver Gjokaj as Daniel Sousa, as well as Shea Whigham for the first season. Whigham signed on to the series knowing that his character, Roger Dooley, would be killed off during the first season. Dominic Cooper portrays Stark, reprising his role from the films and One-Shot in a recurring capacity for the series. ''Agent Carter'' also introduces the origins of several characters and storylines from MCU films: Bridget Regan recurs as Dottie Underwood, an early product of the Black Widow program; and Ralph Brown recurs as Johann Fennhoff, the pioneer of Hydra's mind control techniques.

In addition to original characters, the series' cast also includes further characters based on various Marvel Comics properties, as well as more characters crossing over from the MCU films. The following list includes ''Agent Carter''s main cast, as determined by its producers, as well as all guest stars deemed to have had recurring roles throughout the series, and a supplementary list of other noteworthy guests.

Overview

Main characters

Peggy Carter

Margaret Elizabeth "Peggy" Carter (portrayed by Hayley Atwell) is an officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) who worked with Captain America during World War II, falling in love with him before he seemingly sacrificed himself to stop the Nazi-division Hydra. Following the end of the war, Carter is working in a secretarial role despite her status as an agent. Approached by Howard Stark, whom she had also worked with during the war, to help clear his name after being framed for selling weapons to the USSR, Carter agrees to go behind the backs of her superiors. Her treason is eventually discovered by Agent Daniel Sousa, but she is let off when she helps stop the Russians. She goes on to earn the respect of her coworkers, instigate the defeat of Whitney Frost, and start a relationship with Sousa.

Atwell, who portrayed Carter in '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', and the '' Agent Carter'' short film, expressed interest in reprising the role for the series in October 2013; ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee confirmed her involvement in January 2014. Carter is the first female character to headline a standalone story as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), ahead of popular comic characters such as Black Widow and Captain Marvel. Unlike other major Marvel heroes, Carter does not have any superpowers, instead the writers "always said her superpower is the fact that other people underestimate her. And she often uses that to her advantage". Atwell said it was "thrilling" to explore "the backdrop of this male-dominated world, where women are still in the workforce, unspoken for and struggling to find a place outside the home" and how it affects Carter, who must deal with this along with the missions she receives. For Carter's costumes, though some vintage pieces were used, most of her outfits were custom made to accommodate the scripted action scenes. Costume designer Giovanna Ottobre-Melton gave the outfits an "hourglass style with strength in the tailoring and defined shoulders, but not overly exaggerated." For the character's tactical gear, World War II underground military looks were referenced. Gabriella Graves portrays a young Carter.

Speaking about the influence that the apparent death of Steve Rogers has on Carter, Atwell explained that "It's only been a year and she's grieving him and I think what keeps her going is he was the greatest person she ever knew ... she's also determined to make sure that his work wasn't in vain." Following the first season, Atwell noted that Carter did not "win everyone’s respect", with Jack Thompson taking credit for her actions, for example, but "she knows her value so she doesn’t need that praise". For the second season, executive producer Michele Fazekas explained that after Carter "put a lot of things emotionally to bed", such as letting go of Captain America, she is now "more open to looking at her life and figuring out, does she want a relationship?" Fazekas added that Carter would start to realize that "not everybody has her ideals", even in the SSR.

''The A.V. Club'' named Atwell's performance as one of the "Best Individual Performances" of 2015. Atwell was also nominated for Best Actress in a Television Series at the 41st Saturn Awards, but lost the award to Caitriona Balfe