Save Our Shows! 15 Times Fans Stopped Their Favorites From Being Canceled
There’s a reason that broadcast and cable networks provide mailing and email addresses for fans. First off, it’s so readers can contact them directly and provide feedback on shows they love and shows they hate.
But these addresses are also provided to help facilitate an annual rite of spring — the fan-led letter-writing campaigns in support of shows on the cancellation bubble.
If a show teeters on the verge of ending, the passionate pleas of a program’s most loyal supporters can sometimes tip the hand in the series’ favor. Click through the gallery above for some examples of times when fan support helped save a series like Warrior Nun, Magnum P.I., Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Manifest, Timeless, Ray Donovan, Sanditon, Lucifer, and more!
Star Trek
The series thwwat pledged “to boldly go where no man has gone before” also made TV history as one of the first series to be saved by its fans. After NBC announced plans to cancel the series in 1968 after two seasons, a massive letter-writing campaign and demonstrations outside of the NBC corporate offices convinced studio execs to grant the sci-fi series a third and final season.
Cagney & Lacey
CBS canceled the female-police drama starring Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly in 1983 after its second season received low ratings. But a letter-writing campaign promoted by Ms. magazine, Gloria Steinem and the National Organization for Women overwhelmed CBS brass and led to the show being renewed, airing for seven seasons and winning a total of 14 Emmy Awards.
Quantum Leap
After NBC moved Scott Bakula’s time-traveling, body-jumping series to the dreaded Friday night time slot, “Leapers,” as fans of the series were known, sent 50,000 letters to NBC offices. The move prompted then NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield to return the series to its Wednesday night time slot.
Jericho
In 2007, after the postapocalyptic drama Jericho was canceled after its first season, fans shipped over 20 tons of nuts to CBS network offices. The nutty presents were in reference to a line in the season finale cliffhanger, where Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), told to surrender his town, defiantly replies, “Nuts!” The stunt prompted CBS to renew the series for a second season and to donate the salty snacks to U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Chuck
Instead of engaging in a letter-writing campaign, fans of the NBC spy dramedy Chuck put their money where their mouths were — literally. After ratings slumped in the series’ second season, fans showed their support by buying Subway sandwiches. Star Zachary Levi even led a “flash mob” of 600 hungry fans to one local shop, where they chowed on footlongs. The support helped convince the fast-food chain to help cover the costs of the show’s third season.
Timeless
In 2017, NBC’s freshman drama Timeless received so much fan support that it won USA Today’s annual “Save Our Shows” poll. NBC execs cited the poll as a factor in a surprise second-season renewal that came two days after the network had initially axed the show.
One Day at a Time
The Netflix comedy starring Justina Machado and Rita Moreno faced cancellation after its second season, but a spring 2018 letter-writing campaign and social media blitz from the series’ producers, fans, TV critics and advocacy groups, including the National Hispanic Media Coalition, prompted the streaming service to renew the comedy from producer Norman Lear for a 13-episode third season.
Sanditon
The iTV and PBS production took the states by storm in early 2020, creating a bigger fan base following its fall 2019 broadcast in the U.K. Prior to arriving stateside though, Sanditon had already been canceled abroad. All hope remained in PBS’s faith in the program which was supported by a strong #SaveSanditon campaign. Ultimately, the fan noise was so loud that PBS ended up renewing the program for two additional seasons taking it through to Season 3. The series is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s last unfinished publication of the same name.
Ray Donovan
The Showtime series following Liev Schreiber’s titular fixer was canceled after its seventh season in early 2020, but fans weren’t satisfied with an unresolved conclusion. Viewers took to social media to let their feelings be heard and Showtime took that into consideration, announcing that they’d bring back the show for a final movie instead of a full season with the hope that fans would receive the closure they’re looking for.
Longmire
Based on the book series by Craig Johnson, Longmire debuted on A&E in 2012 to critical acclaim and quickly built a loyal fanbase drawn to its Western mystery themes. Starring Robert Taylor and Katee Sackhoff, the series followed a small-town sheriff as he investigated complex cases in rural Wyoming. After three seasons, A&E chose not to renew the show, ending it on a cliffhanger. Fans were angry at the move and wanted resolution for the characters. Both the fanbase and the show’s creators quickly mobilized to find a new home for the show. Fortunately for fans, Netflix picked up the series, allowing it to continue for three more seasons, giving it the time it needed to create a more satisfying conclusion in 2017.
Manifest
It’s not every day a network show is saved from extinction, and things were looking fairly grim for the sci-fi drama after NBC cut the cord. But Manifest‘s success on Netflix made for a compelling argument that the streamer should pick it up. After some uncertainty, the platform finally revealed the series starring Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, and more would return for a fourth and final extended season. The show saving is due in part to Manifest‘s devoted fans who campaigned relentlessly until Netflix announced the news.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine (starring Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher) has fans to thank for its longevity as they had a part in saving the show following its May 2018 cancellation at Fox. Running on the network for five seasons from 2013 to 2018, a wave of fan outrage ultimately led to NBC picking up the show for an expanded sixth season where the comedy continued to deliver laughs from January 2019 until September 2021 when the series wrapped with an eighth and final season.
Lucifer
After Fox canceled the series, the Devil found a new home -— and a second chance -— on Netflix. Fans refused to let the show die, and launched a massive social media campaign so save the show. Their efforts paid off, as the show was resurrected by the streaming giant, allowing Lucifer to return stronger than ever, as if re-energized by the fires of hell itself. Thanks to the passionate fanbase, the Tom Ellis-led drama delivered some of its best writing and most memorable moments, finding its cloven-footing on Netflix.
Warrior Nun
Debuting in 2020, Warrior Nun quickly grew a large fanbase over its two-season run, leading to a strong reaction from viewers when Netflix canceled the series in December 2022. Their dedication and devotion to the show about a super-powered nun working for a secret sect of demon hunters ultimately led Warrior Nun to salvation in August 2023 when it was revealed the title would return via a film trilogy.
Magnum P.I.
Mangum P.I. starring Jay Hernandez and Perdita Weeks among others first debuted as a reboot on CBS in 2018 where it ultimately ran for four seasons until the network canceled the show in May 2022. The show’s supportive fans didn’t lose hope though and by July 2022 NBC finally answered their prayers, picking up the show for a 20-episode Season 5 run. Unfortunately, the relief only lasted so long as NBC announced in June 2023 that the show wouldn’t return for a sixth season.
Conversation21 Comments
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O
I may be the only one who remembers it, but fans got The Magnificent Seven a second season.
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G
#SaveLucifer
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O
What is OA?
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G
I really liked Sanditon, but that renewal has turned out to be such a social media nightmare for the fans. Not good. 😔
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G
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G
#SaveTheOA
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G
What I want back is The OA! We need all 5 Seasons back!!!!
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R
Save Lucifer #SaveLucifer
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G
The failure of Jericho to perform after being brought back ended the effectiveness of campaigns of sending products to networks.
"Chuck" survived because of a "buy-cott": the audience patronizes the sponsor, and the sponsor is happy and wants to continue being the show's sponsor.
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G
I think the tragedy of the year is The Endgame! Apparently too smart and too sexless for viewers to appreciate. The lack of network support didn’t help either. Very sad!
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C
#SaveLucifer #Lucifer Lucifer season 4!
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G
This is complete BS. The only fan support that matters is ratings. Petitions, hashtags, billboards, etc., are meaningless because they generate no revenue for a network. And it's always about the money regardless of what any writer, producer or star of a show says.
And before you say that ratings don't tell the whole story or that Nielsen is an antiquated system, consider this: the networks who pay Nielsen millions of dollars each year and the advertisers who pay the networks BILLIONS of dollars each year think the current ratings system works. And if it didn't work than the networks and advertisers would've abandoned Nielsen long ago for a competitor with a different measurement system.
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G
Nielsen IS an antiquated system. The target demographics that decide renewals are lucky to watch any live TV at all. In fact, the largest demo are the baby boomers and older X generations, so perhaps the networks and cable channels that show ads need to get a clue and direct their advertising to these people. Now I know that this doesn't apply to all shows, so perhaps ads would need to be tweaked to fit the largest audience tuning in like a show like Criminal Minds, Law and Order or NCIS. It is largely the older generations who are watching these live and given that live ratings are all that are cared about, perhaps this needs to change too. Most people I speak to, often re-watch their shows on demand, and mostly forget to FF the adverts. I bet there is a large market right there, yet these numbers simply get ignored. Back in June 2016 POI managed to crack the 7 million in total viewers, yet the show wasn't renewed. Here we are a little less than two years later and I bet many networks or many shows would kill to get 7 million. The system of ratings has been antiquated for a long time and networks stopped listening to their viewers a long time ago also. Broadcast TV will be dead in a few years time, ten if they are lucky; apart from News, Sports and Reality crap and it really will be too late then. Anything worth watching will be on a streaming service. Why on earth does anyone think CBS started their own streaming service. It is about to launch in Australia, but I won't touch with a ten foot pole. Even though CBS own one of our networks out here, they have been on my shit list ever since they treated Person of Interest so shamefully, the fans in particular, not to mention the cast and crew who were held in limbo for almost a year.
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G
If Nielsen is as antiquated as you claim, try to convince the advertisers who spend $8 billion every year on TV advertising of that. Ad buys that are made based on Nielsen data. Let me know how that goes.
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G
None of that explains why, after cancelling these shows for low ratings, they brought them back.
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O
Dollhouse was also given a 2nd year thanks to a fan campaign.
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G
what about Designing Women? 50,000 fans wrote letters to CBS to put it back on!!!
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P
Someone should bring back Scorpion. At least have some episodes in the can when Magnum reboot gets shitcanned.
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G
They've canceled so many good shows this year. And all without finales. Scorpion, Lucifer, Lethal Weapon. Rizzoli & Isles & Major Crimes each got finales, but was sad to see them go too.
Guess I'll have more time to read.
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P
I fully expect the Magnum PI reboot to bomb. They should have some Scorpion episodes in the can. Cripes. Move the show to another network. USA Network needs a good dramatic show.
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G
Good idea!
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