The fans have scored another victory as yet one more show has been saved from cancellation this season. FOX cancelled its moderately rated series Lucifer, based on the DC series of the same name, back in May, but a raucous campaign by the fans has led to Netflix picking the show up and greenlighting a fourth season. I was surprised that the DC Universe streaming service, which will launch in August, did not step up and grab the show after FOX’s cancellation, but apparently Netflix and Amazon were both very interested in acquiring this one. The fourth season will consist of ten episodes (down from FOX’s usual order of around 22), but fans should be very happy to get another year of the show after such a strong campaign. They were very active on the social nets getting hashtags like #SaveLucifer and #PickupLucifer to trend worldwide. Series star Tom Ellis supported the campaign and worked hard to keep the show alive, and others in the industry were behind it as well.
This is yet another sign of the changing television landscape and the fact that engagement from fans can make a difference. Lucifer marks the third cancelled show that has been saved this season after Amazon picked up The Expanse from Syfy and NBC picked up Brooklyn Nine-Nine from FOX, all after the fans took the social nets to support their shows. The old school network continue to rely on the heavily outdated Nielsen networks to gauge the success of their shows, but those fail to capture the full audience. The social networks provide a means for fans to show that they are engaged in a show and that the Nielsens are missing a significant portion of the audience.
We at Cancelled Sci Fi continue to support the Call to Action from fans and to pass along information on the campaigns trying to save struggling and cancelled shows. The fans can make a difference in this new environment as long as they stay active and engaged, and the networks that recognize their efforts are positioning themselves to better survive in the Peak TV environment. Currently the fans of Shadowhunters and Timeless continue to support their shows (the former has been cancelled the latter is in limbo), and they have to be encouraged by the pickups of Lucifer and The Expanse. Those fans and more know that their diligent work could be rewarded by more seasons of their favorite shows.
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Good news. For whatever reason, The Expanse getting picked up didn’t surprise me, but this one did. But still … good news! 🙂
I am so glad!! It’s about time networks listen to the people they are supposed to serve. Here’s to a fifth season down the road!