Fans Campaign to Save Dark Matter, Midnight Texas, Blood Drive and More

The Summer season has mostly wrapped up, and the networks have been announcing renewals and cancellations over the last few weeks (which mostly consists of the latter). Among the cancellations we have heard of so far are #DarkMatter (Syfy), #BloodDrive(Syfy) and #Stitchers (Freeform), but fans of those shows have come out in force to fight and keep them alive. There are also several shows that have not heard word on their fate yet, particularly #Zoo (CBS) and #MidnightTexas (NBC), whose fans are working hard to assure they do not end up on the Cancellation List. It is definitely hard to sway the opinion of network executives, especially once they have made a final decision. But we have seen examples of successful fan campaigns just recently meaning that any or all of these shows could stick around for another year and perhaps longer.

Do Fan Campaigns Work?

The prevailing wisdom in past years has been that once a network has targeted a show for cancellation that it is easier to arm wrestle Godzilla than to change that decision. But we have seen examples in just the past few months that prove that is not always the case. NBC uncancelled Timeless this past May in response to a raucous campaign to save the show. Netflix agreed to give Sense8 a two-hour finale after the fan backlash from that show’s cancellation (and porn site xHamster offered to produce a full third season). It doesn’t always work, as we have seen spirited campaigns for shows like Limitless, Agent Carter, Witches of East End and more fall short. But the recent successes will definitely give hope for those fighting to save the current crop of cancelled and struggling shows.

What Should Fans Do?

The two most successful fan actions I have seen of late are social network activity and watching the shows online. Getting active on the social networks gets the show trending and brings it free publicity. If the show is still airing, that can attract new viewers, and if not it can spark the interest of other networks that might consider picking it up. Watching online gives the network real numbers to measure the audience as opposed to Nielsen’s sampling. I also believe that buying episode downloads could help because that goes straight to the bottom line, though I have yet to see that cited as a reason that a show was saved. (I go into more detail on what fans can do to save their shows and why the networks should listen here.)

Some of the old school campaign tactics might help as well such as letter/email drives, petitions, or sending some item associated with the show like nuts (Jericho), Tabasco sauce (Roswell), daisies (Pushing Daisies), etc. But the social network activity and online viewing are a clear example of an active and engaged audience and have had the most impact of late.

Active Campaigns

This is a quick rundown of the active campaigns and what they are currently doing to save their shows. If you have additional information on these campaigns, please include it in the comments and I will get it added to the text. If you have an active campaign that I have not included here, please provide that information in the comments.

Dark Matter

This show was cancelled by Syfy after its third season, but fans have come out in force to support it with series co-creator Joseph Mallozzi leading the charge. He has been in talks with other networks about picking the show up, and the massive outpouring of support from fans is helping his cause. Currently, there are daily and weekly (Friday nights) tweet-storms in support of the show led by DarkMatterFTL. There is also an online petition that is currently at 42K signatures and closing in on 50K. The main page for the campaign is here, and you can follow that to find out any new developments. Mallozzi also keeps fans updated with his progress at his blog. UPDATE: Hope for another season appears to be at an end.

Blood Drive

Syfy had two cancellations this Summer, and fans of this Grindhouse series are campaigning to get it to a second season. They already sent in over 60K lollipops (a favorite of the show’s female lead) to NBC Universal and are currently focusing the majority of their efforts on the social networks using the #RenewBloodDrive hashtag among others. You can keep up with the campaign updates here, and you can sign the online petition here.

Stitchers

Freeform cancelled this sci fi procedural after its third season, but it has long had a loyal and active fanbase who are currently trying to keep the show alive. It looks like the majority of their activity is focused on the social networks using the hashtags #SaveStitchers and #BringBackStitchers. There is also a petition trying to convince The CW and several other networks to pick up the show. While its third season was airing, there was a petition for a fourth season that beat its 15K goal and currently has over 22K signatures. They have set up a Tumblr page with the full campaign info here.

Zoo

This CBS series is wrapping up its third season, and its numbers have been down throughout the Summer. It has not been cancelled, but the fans want to make sure it stays that way. They have been active on the social networks using the #RenewZoohashtag, especially while watching new episodes of the show on Thursday nights. They are also sending tweets directly to @ZooCBS and @CBSTVStudios lobbying for a fourth season. There is also an online petition that you can sign here.

Midnight, Texas

This NBC supernatural drama was actually the best performer among the scripted genre shows that aired on the broadcast networks over the Summer, and I believe it has a chance of getting renewed for a second season. The fans are being proactive, though, and have been very active on the social networks in support of it. They are currently pushing the #RenewMidnightTexas hashtag, and there is an online petition here. This group might want to step things up and follow the same strategy that Timeless fans used with the episode re-watch parties last Spring. That may be just enough to nudge the network execs toward a renewal for next Summer.