Interesting news from Entertainment Weekly today:  ABC is not only close to securing a third season of Agents of SHIELD, it’s thinking about developing a spin-off show.

The article says nothing is certain yet, and there won’t be an episode that will serve as a “backdoor pilot.” Still, the show is starting to get a bit crowded. Not only do we have Coulson’s SHIELD, we have a competing “real SHIELD” led by Robert Gonzales (Edward James Olmos), and the possibility of Inhumans making a mark in the world. When Lincoln, the electric pre-med student (Luke Mitchell), arrived, a lot of female fans may be hoping he will stick around somehow.

In a way, it’s not too surprising. In the Marvel comic book universe, SHIELD led to several other groups, such as SWORD, WAND, ARMOR and STRIKE. That doesn’t mean we’ll get TV versions of these groups. It’s more likely we’ll get shows about individual agents.

Now some of you may say Agent Carter is a spin-off show, and that it should come back, too. That’s not certain yet, but the show is really a prequel that shows the roots of SHIELD back in 1946. It still has plenty of connections to the movies, though, especially the Captain America movies.

Instead of having a spinoff show that centers on one agent, or even the “real SHIELD” group, why not have a “Tales of SHIELD” anthology show where stories are told in two, four or maybe six episodes. That way, individual agents can be featured as well as groups. Imagine a story with Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter, or one with Maria Hill. There could be one with Fitz and Simmons on a special mission. There could be one with Gonzales’ “real SHIELD” trying to show Coulson how crime-fighting is really done. They can succeed, but also realize Coulson’s SHIELD is just as real as anyone’s.

How about a story with Grant Ward and Agent 33 battling both HYDRA and SHIELD, and winding up being the heroes somehow? We can also see more of Deathlok, now that he’s gotten some neat upgrades and experience as a field agent. If there can be peace with the Inhumans, bring them in for a story and add Skye to the mix. That may wind up being the “transitioner” to their movie in 2019.

Of course, new characters can also be introduced. We can find out if Benny and Claire did wind up having a place in SHIELD after finding and upgrading Item 47, or if the descendants of SSR agents from Agent Carter became part of SHIELD (aside from Sharon). Who wouldn’t want the grandkids of Jarvis, Souza or even Ida Emke (the Black Widow prototype) as part of SHIELD in 2015?

It can also be used to promote the Netflix shows Daredevil, AKA Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Show an episode especially made for ABC, then lead new fans to Netflix to get more.

That’s my take on how SHIELD can be the new CSI or NCIS, complete with logos. Now, make your suggestions. The ones I made are only a demonstration. Nothing is official until Marvel says it is. Stay tuned.