Over the years, there have been numerous movies and television shows that were saved from cancelation thanks to fan campaigns and public outcry. While some of these shows only went on to have a couple more seasons, others lasted a lot longer than anticipated. In specific cases, rather than receiving another season, TV shows got their own feature film or film series. Either way, audience participation when it comes to movies and television has become a much bigger phenomenon in recent years, saving movies and TV shows that would’ve otherwise been snubbed by studios.
With the advent of social media, audiences’ voices have become much louder and played a larger role in a television show’s longevity, even bringing long-awaited sequels to fruition because of fan pressure. What’s even more interesting has been the various fan campaigns over the years, seeing viewers try everything from petitions to pitching in money to have a plane fly over studios with banners declaring a show should be saved. There’s no question that studios pay much more attention to audiences’ wishes now more than ever, and these movies and TV shows have been saved thanks to fan campaigns.
11 Warrior Nun (2020 – 2022)
One of the latest television shows to be saved by fans is Netflix’s series Warrior Nun, which was canceled ahead of season 3. Netflix confirmed that the series was over in December 2022, and audiences immediately took to social media to create the massive fan campaign #SaveWarriorNun. After months of waiting, showrunner Simon Barry announced via Twitter in June 2023 that the fan campaign was successful, and Warrior Nun would continue. In August 2023, Netflix announced that Warrior Nun would be made into a movie trilogy, rather than receiving more seasons, finishing out Ava’s story as the chosen Halo Bearer.
10 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 – 2021)
Thankfully, the fan campaign to save the comedy police procedural series Brooklyn Nine-Nine didn’t have to last long it was picked up by another studio. After five seasons of watching the diverse precinct live and work on the mean Brooklyn streets, Fox decided that the show would not go on, but certainly didn’t anticipate the social media storm that followed. The hashtag #SaveBrooklyn99 exploded and even celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Hamill, and Guillermo Del Toro expressed disappointment in its cancelation. The very next day, NBC picked up Brooklyn Nine-Nine and renewed it for another season, where the show lived out its remaining years.
One of the most famous examples of a fan campaign saving a show is Community, which is finally getting a movie. The mantra “six seasons and a movie” was planted in audiences’ heads since Abed (Danny Pudi) uttered the phrase in the season 2 episode “Paradigms of Human Memory.” Therefore, when Community was up for cancelation by NBC after season 5, viewers began to panic. Fan campaigns soon exploded, seeing things like a Community-themed art gallery in Los Angeles and even a Community convention called Communicon (via People). Yahoo screens eventually picked up the series for its sixth and final seasons, and now the movie is coming to fruition.
8 The Expanse (2015 – 2022)
Occasionally, the SyFy channel makes a beloved series only to cancel it prematurely. This was the case with The Expanse, which was canceled and then saved by Amazon. SyFy canceled the show after season 3, and what resulted was a truly wild fan campaign. Amazon became fans’ primary target, and in a move that made sure Amazon would never forget the hashtag #SaveTheExpanse, viewers actually pitched in money to have a plane fly over the studio with a banner bearing the hashtag (via Gizmodo). CEO Jennifer Salke told Deadline, “Jeff Bezos was getting emails from everyone from George R.R. Martin to every captain of industry, like the founder of Craigslist.”
7 Friday Night Lights (2006 – 2011)
Unfortunately for the true-story-rooted sports drama Friday Night Lights, viewership wasn’t high enough for NBC to justify renewing the series after an abysmal season 2. However, Friday Night Lights had a bigger and more avid fanbase than the network initially believed, and when the series was announced to be canceled, audiences responded. Since hashtags weren’t necessarily the name of the game at the time, audiences took to the good old-fashioned postal service to express their wishes, and mailed NBC light bulbs with “Light’s Out” written on them, mini footballs, and eye drops (via Vulture). Thankfully, NBC made a deal with DirecTV, and Friday Night Lights got three more seasons.
6 Arrested Development (2003 – 2019)
Another series famous for its multiple cancelations and renewals was the comedy Arrested Development. While the offbeat comedy was a critical success, it never achieved peak viewership during its run on Fox and was up for cancelation ahead of its third season. Upon hearing this, fans began mailing bananas and letters to Fox and ran a SaveOurBluths.com website, begging for another season. Ultimately, Arrested Development got a third installment, but was then promptly canceled again. However, years later Netflix revived Arrested Development, giving it a fourth season in 2013 and a fifth in 2018.
5 Veronica Mars (2004 – 2019)
While the airplane move pulled by The Expanse fans was wild, Veronica Mars viewers did it first. Veronica Mars was canceled by the CW after its second season, and viewers responded by raising $7,000 to have a plane fly over the studio with a banner reading “Renew Veronica Mars CW 2006” (via CheatSheet) This did the trick, and Veronica Mars got another season, only to be canceled again. Rumors swirled about a feature film, but it wasn’t until creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell started a Kickstarter campaign and raised $2 million (via EW). The movie premiered in 2014 and Veronica Mars got a revival season courtesy of Hulu in 2019.
4 Firefly (2002 – 2003)
Joss Whedon’s cult classic TV show Firefly was canceled after one season, and fans of the gritty space Western weren’t happy. For whatever reason, Fox aired the episodes out of order and then canceled the series before it even finished its run. However, when the show came out on DVD and viewers could see how it was meant to be, they quickly realized that Firefly was TV gold and demanded that the show be renewed or picked up by a different network. Though there were emails, letters, and online campaigns sent to Fox, the network wouldn’t budge. However, Universal saw potential, and the show got a movie titled Serenity.
3 Family Guy (1999 – )
The adult animated sitcom Family Guy received the ax from Fox after only its third season on the air. However, thanks to overwhelming DVD sales, it stands as the most successful fan-rescued series. It’s hard to imagine that Family Guy suffered from poor ratings, but the sheer amount of DVD sales and proven success with reruns on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block made Fox reconsider its initial decision. What’s more, CEO and president of 20th Century Fox at the time, Gary Newman, gave a speech at Yale University, and during the Q&A a good number of fans questioned him over Family Guy (via Baltimore Sun).
2 Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 – 1969)
Star Trek: The Original Series first aired in 1966, and while it’s now known as a quintessential sci-fi show, NBC didn’t find any merit in the series and decided to cancel it after season 2. Sci-fi writer Betty JoAnne Trimble and her husband John organized one of the first fan campaigns ever that saw over 110,000 letters and notes delivered to the network, begging to save the show (via Vox). While NBC did give Star Trek a third season, it was canceled again afterward. Nevertheless, Paramount Studios saw its potential and put out the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, essentially launching the franchise as its known today.
1 Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Ant-Man 3 never would’ve happened without Paul Rudd urging fans to campaign for it (via ComicBook). While audiences enjoyed the first two Ant-Man movies, it was hardly the most well-performing franchise of the massive MCU. The campaign for what would later become Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania began after Rudd starred in a Pepsi MAX commercial with co-star Michael Peña, and when Rudd was asked about the possibility of Ant-Man 3 by Yahoo!, he stated “You need to make a call to the top brass and start a campaign to make it happen.” Both audiences and Rudd got their wish, and Quantumania came out in theaters four years later.
