Canceled? Not so fast!
These days if a TV show gets canceled there is still a slight chance they will be picked up by another network or a streaming service. Before this development there were a few times where fan campaigns (often using highly unusual means) were instrumental in getting the ax lifted and the network renewing the show after all.
Out of these successful campaigns, which show do you think most deserved their reprieve?
Discuss the list here
Out of these successful campaigns, which show do you think most deserved their reprieve?
Discuss the list here
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- CreatorBarbara AvedonBarbara CordayStarsTyne DalySharon GlessAl WaxmanTwo female police detectives cooperate with each other both in their professions and in their personal lives.Fans organized a letter-writing campaign which was supported by Gloria Steinem's Ms. Magazine. The show was renewed and ran for six more seasons.
- CreatorChris FedakJosh SchwartzStarsZachary LeviYvonne StrahovskiJoshua GomezWhen a computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, both the CIA and the NSA assign an agent to protect him and exploit his newfound skills.Fans launched a "Have a Heart, Renew Chuck" campaign, raising $17,000 for the American Heart Association. They also organized a mass purchase of Subway sandwiches on the day of the finale. Subway was so impressed they became one of the show's main sponsors and the show ran for five total seasons.
- CreatorKevin BiegelBill LawrenceStarsCourteney CoxChrista MillerBusy PhilippsFollows the escapades and relationships of a group of neighbors living in Gulfhaven, Florida.The cast went on a tour during the third season, hosting wine-filled viewing parties across the country. While it was still cancelled, it moved to a new network and ran for three more seasons.
- CreatorLinda Bloodworth-ThomasonStarsDelta BurkeDixie CarterAnnie PottsThe misadventures of four women and their handyman running a design firm in Atlanta, Georgia.After the first season, fans launched a letter-writing campaign due to its low ratings. The show rebounded and ran for six more seasons.
- CreatorJ.J. AbramsMatt ReevesStarsKeri RussellScott SpeedmanScott FoleyA young girl, fresh out of high school, follows her high school crush to college to be near him.Fans helped the show get a reprieve by congregating on the studio's lawn and sending letters to protest. The show ran for two more years.
- CreatorPeter BergStarsKyle ChandlerConnie BrittonZach GilfordA drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.Fans sent in light bulbs and eye drops (the team's motto was "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose"). The show moved to a streaming service where it ran for three more years.
- CreatorStephen ChboskyJosh SchaerJonathan E. SteinbergStarsSkeet UlrichLennie JamesAshley ScottA small town in Kansas is literally left in the dark after seeing a mushroom cloud over nearby Denver, Colorado. The townspeople struggle to find answers about the blast and solutions on how to survive.Fans sent 20 tons of peanuts (the main character often cried, "Nuts") to the network. Seven more episodes were created and ran the following year.
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellDeborah PrattDuring an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.When its ratings dropped precipitously after a time period change, fans started a "Keep the Leap" letter-writing campaign. The network president received more than 50,000 letters and the show wound up running for five years total.
- CreatorTara ButtersMichele FazekasStarsBret HarrisonTyler LabineRick GonzalezOn his 21st birthday, Sam discovers his parents sold his soul to the devil before birth and he must now be a bounty hunter for the devil until he dies.Fans sent in socks (one of the lead characters was named Sock) and were rewarded with an additional 13-episode season.
- CreatorJason KatimsStarsShiri ApplebyJason BehrKatherine HeiglThe lives of three young alien/human hybrids with extraordinary gifts in Roswell.Fans sent 6,000 mini bottles of Tabasco sauce (which the alien characters on the show put on everything) to the network. It was renewed and ran for two more seasons.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.A letter-writing campaign scored the show one more season than the network planned.
- CreatorRob ThomasStarsKristen BellJason DohringEnrico ColantoniAfter her best friend is murdered, and her father is removed as county Sheriff, Veronica Mars dedicates her life to cracking the toughest mysteries in the affluent town of Neptune.Fans sent 10,000 Mars bars to the network. While this ploy was not successful, a few years later the creators ran a Kickstarter campaign to try and make a movie and ended up earning nearly 300% of their goal.