Clark Gregg in the context of "What Lies Beneath"

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is an American television series created for ABC by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), a fictional peacekeeping and spy agency in a world of superheroes. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and it acknowledges the continuity of the franchise's films and other television series.

The series stars Clark Gregg, reprising his role of Phil Coulson from the films, as well as Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge. Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki joined the cast for the second and third seasons, while Henry Simmons and Luke Mitchell had recurring roles in the second season before being promoted to the main cast for the third. John Hannah, who recurred in the third season, joined the main cast in the fourth, while Natalia Cordova-Buckley, who recurred in both the third and fourth seasons, was promoted to the main cast for the series' fifth season. Jeff Ward was promoted to the main cast for the sixth season after recurring in the fifth. Additionally, some characters from Marvel Cinematic Universe films and Marvel One-Shots also appear throughout the series, along with other characters based on various Marvel Comics properties. Several characters from the series also appear in the supplemental digital series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division), a peacekeeping and spy agency in a world of superheroes. The series was the first to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and it acknowledges the continuity of the franchise's films and other television series. It was produced by ABC Studios, Marvel Television, and Mutant Enemy Productions, with Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell serving as showrunners.

The series stars Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, reprising his role from the film series, alongside Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge. Nick Blood, Adrianne Palicki, Henry Simmons, Luke Mitchell, John Hannah, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward joined in later seasons. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents deal with various unusual cases and enemies, including Hydra, Inhumans, Life Model Decoys, alien species such as the Kree and Chronicoms, and time travel. Several episodes directly cross over with MCU films or other television series, notably Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), which significantly affected the series in its first season, and Agent Carter (2015–16), from which series regular Enver Gjokaj joined the cast for the seventh season. In addition to Gregg, other actors from throughout the MCU also appear in guest roles.