The first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. consists of 22 episodes and introduces viewers to Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who assembles a team of agents to handle strange and unexplained cases. The season focuses on the team's efforts to uncover the truth behind a powerful artifact known as the "Tesseract" and to stop the villainous organization HYDRA, which has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.