 In August 2012 , it was announced that Marvel 's The Avengers director Joss Whedon would be involved in an upcoming project for ABC , set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe . A few weeks later , ABC ordered a pilot for a show called S.H.I.E.L.D. , to be written by Joss Whedon , Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen , directed by Joss Whedon , and executive produced by Joss Whedon , Jed Whedon , Tancharoen , Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb . Jed Whedon , Tancharoen and Bell were slated to serve as the series ' showrunners . Additional executive producers on the series were Joe Quesada , Alan Fine , and Stan Lee . In April 2013 , ABC announced that the show would be titled Marvel 's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , and it was officially picked up to series in May . On October 10 , 2013 , ABC announced that it had ordered a full season of 22 episodes . 
