Hayley Atwell and James D’Arcy star in “Agent Carter”

If you haven't seen "Agent Carter," it would be easy to dismiss it as just another drop in the sea of Marvel's ever-growing television and film endeavors. As fans of the show -- and critics, for that matter -- will tell you, though, this is one Marvel series you shouldn't dismiss.

In a TV and movie landscape that's saturated with superheroes, "Agent Carter" is a winner, largely because it doesn't play by the rules. The 10-episode second season premieres Tuesday, Jan. 19, on ABC.

While season 1 didn't pull in stellar ratings, the show was lavished with critical acclaim, largely because it focuses on the eponymous Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, "The Pillars of the Earth"), a hero in her own right, but no super-skilled caped crusader. An insider of the superhero world right from the start, she's the love of Captain America's life, and a close friend of Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," 2012), whom she helps found S.H.I.E.L.D., the agency that ultimately unites the Avengers. Carter is in on the ground floor, a mega-competent, brave, intelligent woman who must make her way in a 1940s world that's less than female-friendly -- a compelling heroine by any standard.

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes notes that season 1 received a 95 percent approval rating, and Internet Movie Database has it rated 8.2 out of 10 stars, yet "Agent Carter" wasn't a slam dunk to get renewed. After a strong start -- nearly seven million people tuned in for the series premiere -- it pulled in only slightly more than four million eyeballs for the finale, a somewhat unnerving decline considering the first season was only eight episodes. Still, as Atwell said at Fan Expo 2015 in September, fan support and all of the positive reviews played a major part in the series nabbing a renewal.

"I didn't anticipate there would be a second season," she said. "I knew it was well received. I don't think the ratings shot through the roof to the point where it was definitely going to be a done deal, that we'd immediately have a second season. It was really due to the online support of the fans and also the fact that the reviews have been so positive."

And so here we are, gearing up for a second season. These 10 episodes are in many ways a departure from season 1, as Agent Carter jets off to Hollywood with her trusty ally, Jarvis (James D'Arcy, "Broadchurch"), the inspiration for Tony Stark's J.A.R.V.I.S. artificial intelligence system. Promotional videos show Peggy thoroughly enjoying herself and getting her hands dirty (and bloody); as Atwell said at Fan Expo, the excitement about the new setting translated into real life as well.

"I was excited to explore this in a second season because she's in a different place," she said. "Physically, she's gone to Los Angeles. She's in the Hollywood, glamorous world where they have this gangster, dark underbelly in the '40s, which was kind of like 'L.A. Confidential,' film noir. It's taken on that kind of tone. Also, she's no longer grieving Steve [Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America], so she's ready to open up her heart. She's in a much lighter, happier place within herself. Then, of course, we have got Jarvis being crazy Jarvis."

Dominic Cooper as seen in “Agent Carter”

The setting won't be the only thing different for season 2. As Atwell mentioned, Agent Carter has finally moved on from her love of Captain America, meaning she's open to other potential love interests.

"There will be lots of different angles," she said. "There will certainly be more love interests and love triangles. The great thing is we know because of ['Captain America: The Winter Soldier,' 2014], Peggy lives into her mid-90s. There's so much scope. She founded S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore she has this incredibly full life. We know at one point she gets married with children."

Those other scopes may well be for other seasons, though. With 10 episodes to work with, there's only so much story the show can cover, and if "Agent Carter" can rebound from less-than-stellar numbers of season 1, or regenerate its more-than-stellar reviews, the sky's the limit on how far this show could go.

While things may be different this time around, there are still some familiar faces returning for the sophomore season. Along for the Hollywood ride with Peggy and Jarvis are her colleagues, Jack Thompson (Chad Michael Murray, "One Tree Hill") and Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj, "Dollhouse"), as well as Russian sleeper agent Dottie Underwood (Bridget Regan, "Jane the Virgin") and Stark.

It's been a long wait for fans of "Agent Carter," but the strong leading lady is back on the small screen and taking on the West Coast -- acknowledging the high quality, if not numbers, of the first season, ABC has put its faith in the series, and hopes to see a rise in viewership this time around. And so they should; the critically acclaimed series aims to rebound in a big way when "Agent Carter" returns for a second season, premiering Tuesday, Jan. 19, on ABC.