In 2019 a woman named Emperial Young went on an eight-day hunger strike outside the Netflix building in New York, protesting against the streaming giant’s decision to cancel the cult hit TV show The OA.
“Entertainment is food for the human soul and Netflix’s algorithm isn’t measuring that right now,” Young told Insider. “And by not taking physical food, I’m saying that this show is more important food to me than actual food.”
Fan campaigns to renew cancelled shows are nothing new. From the outcry after the cancellation of the cult sci-fi cowboy show Firefly to the incredibly successful mission to fund a Veronica Mars movie, fandoms have often rallied around the shows they love, and attempted to keep them alive. But going on hunger strike? These aren’t your grandparents’ fandoms any more.
These groups have got far more organised and creative – like the incredibly passionate fandom behind Our Flag Means Death, who are now settling in for a fight.
After two seasons, the queer pirate romcom starring Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby was cancelled by HBO’s Max this month – and its fans quickly mobilised. They raised more than US$21,000 for the campaign, which was used to purchase a billboard in Times Square and have a plane fly over Hollywood with a banner reading “Save Our Flag Means Death”. They also flooded Max’s social media, phone lines and customer feedback inboxes en masse, and launched a petition that has just under 80,000 signatures at time of writing.
Eloise M is a copywriter from Sydney who is using her marketing and communications background to help the campaign, known as Renew as a Crew. A large portion of the campaign revolves around finding a new streamer to give the show a home, and she advises fellow fans how to engage with streamers and brands online.
Along with raising funds for their campaign, Renew as a Crew has also raised money for charity, with A$25,821 going to RainbowYOUTH in New Zealand (where the second season was filmed), and A$15,174 being sent to Care for Gaza. “It’s been great to be involved in, not just to see everyone’s dedication, but how creative and hilarious some community members are in their tactics, which span from ‘respectful and sincere’ to ‘fairly unhinged’ – in a good way,” Eloise M says.
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— Renew as a Crew - #SaveOFMD (@RenewAsACrew) January 21, 2024
Thank you to everyone who donated and worked hard to make this weekend happen.#SaveOFMD #Adop pic.twitter.com/UAbPoEtB9w
Our Flag Means Death is the latest in a spree of cancellations happening in the streaming world. In 2023 alone cancelled shows included Disney+’s Willow, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone and Mindhunter, Paramount’s Star Trek: Prodigy and Max’s Gossip Girl, to name just a handful. “It’s a shame because TV shows just aren’t given the time, season lengths and breathing room to establish themselves and their fanbases in this environment,” Eloise M says.
The OA was a precursor in 2019; that same year, Netflix’s Anne With an E was cancelled after three seasons – and its fans mobilised accordingly. “Our petition (as far as I know) remains the biggest fan-made petition to renew a show, ever – something we are still proud of,” says Lisa E, who was instrumental in the campaign to save the cult favourite.
“It started the moment the cancellation was announced. We trended very quickly on Twitter that day, I think we amassed something like 1m tweets in a matter of hours, with over 13m tweets sent to Netflix and CBC in the first week.”
There have been some success stories from these campaigns. In 2018 the cop sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine was saved by NBC a day after it was cancelled by Fox, amid huge outcry. The sci-fi show Sense8 was given a two-hour feature finale after a passionate campaign. The Sapphic favourite Warrior Nun is returning as a trilogy of films, thanks to its fans.
But it doesn’t always work. Anne With an E fans used many of the same tricks as Our Flag Means Death, including buying billboards and social media strategies; they even had Ryan Reynolds tweeting his support. But they gave up in 2020.
“We threw our hands up and decided we were kicking a dead horse,” Lisa E says. “I think every fandom has a right to fight for what they love, even if it’s a battle they won’t win. Because oftentimes this leads to some great stuff – friendships, money raised for charities, etc. And hey, you never know, right?”
Butshe has a warning for people who are getting ready to fight for their favourite show. “Make sure this is worth the energy and time you’re about to spend,” she says. “The odds of your campaign being successful are probably zero, so if you’re willing to take that risk and go for it, then by all means go for it – but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
