Season 5 Of 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Will Join 'Inhumans' On ABC's Friday Night Line-Up: Does This Spell Trouble?

After last night's amazing season finale of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., it's no surprise that the following season is already a topic of great intrigue. Undoubtedly, the biggest talking point is what will happen next on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — but the "when," as well as the "what," has piqued fans' interest.

Warning: Spoilers for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 finale to follow.

Season 4 left us with the biggest cliffhanger of the show so far, as the S.H.I.E.L.D. team were taken captive by an unidentified covert agency. They were last seen being surrounded, and the final moments of the episode show Coulson somewhere in space. Yes, in space. We don't know exactly how this change in setting will be addressed in the following season, but it's a safe bet to say Season 5 will pick up immediately after Coulson's awakening. In addition to the change of setting, there's another change coming.

According to a report from THR, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. will move from its regularly scheduled time on Tuesdays to a Friday night slot on the ABC network for Season 5. The new season will being airing immediately after the eight-episode run of Marvel's #Inhumans concludes. ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey confirmed:

"ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey opened up about plans for midseason. Agents of SHIELD will take over the Fridays at 8 p.m. slot after fellow Marvel drama Inhumans wraps its eight-episode run. (SHIELD also will return with a full 22-episode season.)"

While the move for Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. won't affect the progression of the series, it may have been done to keep Marvel's series together. Whilst it looks unlikely that Inhumans won't cross over with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in its first season, running one after the other in the same Friday night slot might be an intentional move, so that once fans are done watching one, they simply continue watching the next. Then again, the move might unintentionally bring something more unfortunate upon both Inhumans and Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D..

Friday nights are widely considered to be "where TV shows go to die". However, with streaming and on-demand viewing playing an increasingly large role in viewing habits, Friday nights are not the death curse they once were. Not to mention, Marvel and ABC are ambitiously launching Inhumans in IMAX theaters; not exactly the opening you'd expect for a show execs are trying to bury. So, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans might not perish in the death slot, but that does make it seem like there are some obstacles standing in the way of both Marvel series succeeding. Inhumans is a big risk for the studio, and will be under a lot of scrutiny; given the unorthodox IMAX opening, Inhumans will have to be great to succeed. Nevertheless, we shouldn't count the Inhumans series out just yet. For all we know, Inhumans could be the kicker that reignites the enthusiasm fans once had for Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.