I don’t think there’s any doubt that tonight’s most anticipated TV premiere will be Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC, which starts at 8pm. 

I’ll certainly be watching – an hour which ABC will probably win easily (at least tonight).

What we’ll be looking for with regards to this blog’s interests: well, there are no black characters in the series starring cast, as you should already know, although we do know that Joss Whedon’s former Angel cast member, J. August Richards, will make an appearance in tonight’s pilot episode, playing a character that we still don’t know yet, although that hasn’t stopped speculation.

If you really want to know who the character is, you can find it rather easily by performing a web search. But I won’t spoil it here.

The TV serial is being shepherded by Joss Whedon (who wrote and directed the big-screen version of The Avengers), alongside Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse).

Here’s ABC’s official synopsis:

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet—the new, the strange and the unknown. That team consists of straight arrow Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). Their initial investigations lead them to civilian computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet). Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual—of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents—that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

So tune in tonight at 8PM for the premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Ahead of its debut, ABC has released a new trailer: