Freeform (formerly ABC Family) will now be getting in on the Marvel fun that it’s parent company, Disney, has been dishing out. According to Variety, the teen-oriented network will soon be home to a series based on Marvel characters Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, better known as “Cloak & Dagger“. It is assumed that, like all other live action Marvel shows, this will be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity.
Variety did a great job of summing up these characters, so I’ll differ to them…
The live-action interracial romance follows the duo, two teenagers from very different backgrounds, who find themselves burdened and awakened to newly acquired superpowers while falling in love — Tandy can emit light daggers and Tyrone has the ability to engulf others in darkness. They quickly learn they are better together than apart, but their feelings for each other make their already complicated world even more challenging.
Some fans are already grumbling about a Marvel show landing on Freeform, home to the likes of “Pretty Little Liars” and “Shadowhunters“*, even if it is one where the characters have often been portrayed as teens in the source material. I’d like to remind those fans that the same attitude was tossed at DC’s shows on The CW years ago and now we have the much-beloved likes of “The Flash“, “Arrow“, and “Legends of Tomorrow” entertaining us on a weekly basis. Also, given how soap opera-ish Marvel’s characters tend to be, finally catering to that teen demo makes perfect sense when Marvel already has the family side (on ABC), the kid corner (on Disney XD), and the adult side (on Netflix) covered on television. Just because it’s marketed at a different demographic does not mean that it won’t be worthwhile to fans of all ages.
This marks the 10th series to be greenlit based on a Marvel property. It follows fellow ABC shows “Agents of SHIELD“, “Agent Carter“, and the forthcoming “Most Wanted” and “Damage Control“. There’s also the ABC-produced Netflix shows, which currently consist of “Daredevil“, “Jessica Jones“, “Luke Cage” (premiering this September), and the forthcoming “Iron Fist” series (as well as the eventual “The Defenders” miniseries).
* – I still say “Bunheads” deserved more than one season and I don’t care who hears me! That show was wonderful.
