AOS definitely struggled ratings-wise in live airings, but it excelled in L+7 and outperformed prior ABC shows in the Tuesday at 10pm slot. It wouldn't have been brought back for the 5th season otherwise.
I don't see many similarities between the two programs. AOS, a spy show focusing on B and C level Marvel characters with "TV level" abilities was a good match for network TV. But as we've seen, Lockjaw (dog looks ok, teleportation effect looks terrible), Medusa, Black Bolt, Crystal and Attilan simply don't work on the small screen.
Oh, I agree. My point is the same as yours: Agents of SHIELD isn't really relevant to Inhumans. Inhumans could get just as good of ratings as AoS season 4, and it'll get cancelled in a heart beat, because it doesn't have the advantages AoS had.
That said. . . hmm. My own suspicion is that, you *could* get the Inhumans to work for an eight episode miniseries, at least to an okay level. However, you need a couple of things. One is an actual prestige TV budget, without wasting tons of it on IMAX. The other is a showrunner whose actually good at his/her job, and knows how to artistically work around the limits of budget and SFX. Sadly, they wasted a ton of their budget on IMAX, and Scott Buck seems utterly unable to avoid showing off all the things his production *can't* do well.
If I were in charge of it ( and actually had the necessary skills of a showrunner *cough* )? I'd take the "Space Game of Thrones" elevator pitch and lean into it. Focus on drama and character above all else. Fight scenes and displays of power are limited and saved up, to be used for best dramatic effect rather than constantly. Since your building sets for Attilan, set almost all of it *in* Attilan, thus getting the most bang for your set buck, and avoiding the expense of on-site filming.
I'd probably have the plot be "Kree ambassadors show up, seeking to reestablish ties with their 'lost colony'", with the series following the intrigues as the Kree try to regain control over the inhumans. The broad form would be Kree Ambassadors vs Royal Family vs Genetic Council. The Kree, natch, want to destabilize Attilan, so they can take or control what they want. The Royal Family are varyingly idealist and reformer, who want to maintain their power while also keeping Attilan free of the Kree. The Genetic Council are basically the "old guard", traditional center of power and culture that is stodgy and harsh, especially as Black Bolt's monarchy has weakened them a lot. Under them all are the Alpha Primitives or equivalent, basically the commoners that everyone is ( awkwardly or not ) standing above.
In the end, the Royal Family wins through. The ambassadors efforts to turn the city against the throne are foiled, traitors amongst the Genetic Council are killed, and Black Bolt spends a big chunk of the show's SFX budget yelling at a small fleet of Kree ships after spending seven episodes as an implied threat. Of course, it comes at a cost: the Royal Family has to put down an uprising amongst the Alpha Primitives that they are otherwise trying to assist; monarchical power is reinforced at the expense of civil society; and the Royals are forced to accept some of the advice and assistance by Maximus, ever a font of brilliant but ruthless counsel. . .
