ABC renewed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. days after canceling Marvel's Inhumans, which ran for only one season. The cancelation cast doubt on the future of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but that doubt can now officially be tossed aside. While the Marvel TV series is excellent for hardcore fans, it hasn't been the huge hit that the network was hoping for. Confusion over the relationship with the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn't helped matters, and fans of the TV series have been waiting to get more of an official link between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the MCU.

Season 6 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be an abbreviated affair with ABC only ordering 13 episodes as opposed to the full 22 that they have done with the Marvel series in the past. There is no official release date at this time. This should come as a nice surprise for fans who have been wondering about the fate of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It also comes at an interesting time since it has been announced that Clark Gregg's Agent Phil Coulson will be returning to the MCU for Captain Marvel.

Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter states that the sixth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will have tie-ins to the recently released Infinity War, like the last episodes of Season 5, which should gather up some more interest for the show from more than just hardcore MCU devotees. It isn't clear how the events of Infinity War will affect the show at this time. While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a moderate success in North America, it has a large international draw, which means that the abbreviated season may be a bit of a test to see how the show does with the release of Captain Marvel and the still untitled Avengers 4.

The upcoming sixth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could end up being its biggest yet. The MCU is on fire right now and about to release Ant-Man 2 this summer. Additionally, as previously noted, Agent Coulson will appear in Captain Marvel, which is set in the early 1990s. While nothing has been officially confirmed at this time, we could end up seeing some more tie-ins to the MCU in the upcoming season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Russo Brothers recently admitted that they briefly toyed with bringing characters from the show into Infinity War, but realized that they already had enough on their plate to deal with.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 could also end up being the final 13 episodes of the Marvel TV series. Jed Whedon, brother of director Joss Whedon and co-creator of the series, mentioned earlier this year that they were fully prepared to have the final episode of Season 5 be the last of the series, so this is pretty exciting news for fans of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. There's a lot going on in the MCU, so hopefully fans get to see some more tie-ins. This story was first announced by The Hollywood Reporter.