'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Returns Tonight — IN SPACE!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." returns Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT to ABC with a special 2-hour premiere. (Image credit: ABC)

The heroes of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." are tasked with protecting the people of Earth from strange, otherworldly threats. But in Season 5, beginning tonight (Dec. 1) on ABC at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST), they're in space — and seem to need some protection of their own.

The last time we saw those agents, they were being captured in a diner by mysterious people in black. That scene cut to their leader, Phil Coulson, who looked meditatively out a window at a field of asteroids. It appears the rest of the crew are there, too, and the first minutes of the new season suggest life in space isn't as placid as that moment might suggest.

See more

When Space.com talked with the show cast and producer at New York Comic Con in October about "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: LOST IN SPAAAACE!", as they affectionately call it, they confirmed that the characters are thrown into the unknown and, like the audience, are struggling at first to figure out their situation and how to make it home.

The special 2-hour show premiere tonight will stretch from 8 to 10 p.m. EST (7 to 9 p.m. CST), but the rest of the episodes this season will air on Fridays from 9 to 10 p.m. (8 to 9 p.m. CST).

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Sarah Lewin
Associate Editor

Sarah Lewin started writing for Space.com in June of 2015 as a Staff Writer and became Associate Editor in 2019 . Her work has been featured by Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, Quanta Magazine, Wired, The Scientist, Science Friday and WGBH's Inside NOVA. Sarah has an MA from NYU's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program and an AB in mathematics from Brown University. When not writing, reading or thinking about space, Sarah enjoys musical theatre and mathematical papercraft. She is currently Assistant News Editor at Scientific American. You can follow her on Twitter @SarahExplains.