11 Times That Fans Got So Involved In A TV Show, They Were Able To Make Some Actual Change

Fans saved Lucifer from cancellation not once, but twice! Oh, and got them to show his ass too while they were at it!

It's safe to say that fans can get pretty passionate about their favourite shows. Whether it's the changing of a theme song, or the show actually getting cancelled – fans often have a LOT to say about the fate of their beloved shows.

Fox TV

And sometimes, they're actually listened to!

So, here are 11 times that fans actually had an impact on their favourite show!

1. Lucifer

Fox / Netflix

Lucifer ran for three seasons on Fox and gained quite a devoted fanbase, but with dipping ratings and a change-up in strategy, they cancelled it in 2018. Upon its cancellation, #SaveLucifer immediately began trending on Twitter. 

tom ellis @tomellis17

Not sure if you’ve crashed Twitter yet but you’ve definitely crashed my phone! It literally can’t keep up...You guys are Rampant! And I love it 😍 #SaveLucifer #PickLuciferUp ✊😈

12:39 AM - 15 May 2018

Twitter: @tomellis17

The fans succeeded!

Netflix

The enthusiastic fans got Netflix to do a deal with the devil, and sign up to keep the series going. Not only did they listen to the fans there, but they also ventured into the murky lands of social media to see what they wanted for the new season.

"It started off with a lot of social conversation mining across Twitter and Reddit," "We identified a handful of things, but the No. 1 thing every fan wanted to see was [lead actor] Tom Ellis' butt." 

So, not only did the fans bring back Lucifer, but they also got the show to give them some butt and an entire scene of naked Lucifer to boot. 

The fans showed their muscle again when Netflix said season five was the last one, and managed to convince them to renew it for a sixth and final season! 

2. Scrubs

NBC

There are actually a couple of things that Scrubs had to reverse due to fan sentiment. It's well known that the Janitor was initially written as a figment of JD's imagination, but it was partially due to the fans that he made it to the realm of the real. 

The success and renewal of the show, coupled with the Janitor becoming a fan favourite got show creator Bill Lawrence to write him in as a real character, thank goodness! 

Fans also got the original theme song back!

NBC

After only one season of the show, fans had already become very attached to the iconic "I'm no Superman" theme song. So, when, for season two, they used a slower version, viewers were NOT happy. Luckily, they listened to the noise, and the original opening intro was reintroduced! 

Here is the version they revolted against:

youtube.com

3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The WB / UPN

Fans of the show will now know Spike as a staple, long-running character, but things could have been sooo different (and much shorter) for him if the writers had stuck to their initial plan. Spike was actually supposed to last just five episodes and then become Angel's first victim, but audience sentiment saved his fate. 

Even when the fans took to him, the Showrunner Joss Whedon said to James Marsters (who played Spike): "I don't care how popular you are, kid. You are dead. You are dead, you hear me?"

James, with the help of the fans, had other ideas!

The WB / UPN

Joss wanted Spike to be an utterly heartless vampire, but James said that he started undercutting this theme from the beginning, mainly because he needed a longer job than just a few episodes. On trying to get the audience on his side he said: 

"You find the thing that will connect you to the audience. What does your character love? I was like, well I'm going to find the love and so I found it in Drusilla."

Well, it's lucky that he did, and that Joss took the fan's positive reaction to Spike seriously!

4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Fox / NBC

When Fox decided to not renew the hit show in favour of Bob's Burgers and Thursday Night Football, fans were devastated, and the complaints (and shocked tweets) came in droves. Among these were annoyed celebrities, who joined the flocks of disappointed fans to take aim at the network for dropping the show.

Lin-Manuel Miranda @Lin_Manuel

RENEW BROOKLYN NINE NINE I ONLY WATCH LIKE 4 THINGS THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS #RenewB99

08:55 PM - 10 May 2018

Twitter: @Lin_Manuel

Mark Hamill @MarkHamill

Oh NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! 😩😭😫😢 I'm SO not ready to say #ByeBye99. Be forewarned @FOXTV-when networks dump shows I love, I'm known for holding grudges a long, L-O-N-G time. I'm still mad @CBS didn't renew #SquarePegs! 😡 #EverythingILikeGetsCancelled https://t.co/NEry6Hrpng

10:38 PM - 10 May 2018

Twitter: @MarkHamill

And it worked!

Fox / NBC

Terry Crews joked that it was Star Wars star Mark Hamil who saved B99, but he admitted that it was the huge wave of fans that made NBC step up and continue the series!

5. Game of Thrones

HBO

We already know that showrunners and writers are always checking Reddit and fan messageboards to see if the fans have figured out the twist, or what they think of certain characters, and GOT included a little nod to fans in season seven. 

Fans on Reddit and Twitter were making jokes about Gendry's ongoing absence from the show, with his last appearance being him rowing away. 

Domenic Z @DomZenga

Gendry been rowing since season 3, he gonna roll up on shore next week like.... #GameOfThrones

02:20 AM - 31 Jul 2017

Twitter: @DomZenga

The writers weren't blind to the jokes!

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Well, the GOT writers decided to add a little line when he reappeared, to acknowledge the jokes that the fans had been making. 

When we see him for the first time since his rowing departure, Davos says to him: "thought you might still be rowing.", as a nod to the various memes about Gendry's proficiency as a rower. 

6. The Expanse

Amazon Prime

When SyFy decided not to renew the show for a fourth season, it was up to the fans to make sure that we'd know the fate of the Rocinante's crew. How did they do it? Well, it was quite an effort! 

They targeted Amazon to try to convince them to pick up the show, and even rented a plane to fly a #SaveTheExpanse banner over Amazon HQ. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon studios said of the campaign: “There were aeroplanes circling us, I was having cakes delivered, there was a whole thing happening.”

And then some fans in the industry got involved!

Amazon Prime

Salke also said "really smart people, whose opinions I really value creatively, started reaching out to me, saying, “have you seen this show, The Expanse, it’s actually great”

Even people such as George R.R Martin were emailing Jeff Bezos saying how they had to save the show, which is some endorsement. Amazon went on to pick up the show for three more excellent seasons!

7. Outlander

Starz

^{Content note: the next point includes discussion of sexual assault.}

In this instance, fans of the original novel and the series wrote to the show creator and helped the author, Diana Gabaldon, convince them to make a very serious part of the narrative more aligned with the novel. 

What was being discussed was how they would handle the aftermath of the sexual assault of Jamie by Jonathan Randall that occurs in season one. The novel shows Jamie and Claire struggling to overcome what's happened to Jamie, and Diana was against the show speeding up the recovery in order to quickly move the narrative on.

The fans joined forces with Diana!

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly

When one fan (who was also a survivor) wrote to Diana about the importance Jamie's recovery made to them when they were reading it, it prompted hundreds of other readers to write in. When Diana gave the showrunner these messages, the importance of including the long process of recovery beccame clear, and they chose to change it to be closer to what happens in the novel. 

8. Jericho

CBS

When this post-apocalyptic drama was given the axe, the fans had a response to match the drama of the show itself. After a fundraiser was set up, fans used the money raised to send literal tons of nuts (yes, NUTS) to network executives as a protest to the show's cancellation. 

Why nuts you ask? Well, it was a reference to a scene from what was supposed to be the show's final episode, when residents are under attack and told to surrender and Jake Green, played by Skeet Ulrich, has a one-word response for them – "Nuts".

Here's the scene that inspired the protest.

youtube.com

The nuts worked!

20th Century Fox

It turns out that eight million peanuts are enough to change the minds of network producers! And, thankfully CBS donated the nuts to charity – so it was a win-win!

9. Veronica Mars

UPN / The CW / Hulu

This is truly a case of fans taking things into their own hands, and dipping those hands into their own wallets in order to keep the show alive. When it was cancelled after three seasons, a Kickstarter was set up in order to fund not only another season but a Veronica Mars movie! 

One die-hard fan donated $10,000 to the campaign to help the movie get made, and received a brief cameo in the actual film for their contribution! 

Here's the scene with the kick-starter in!

youtube.com

10. Friday Night Lights

NBC

In 2008, when fans of the show were desperate for Ben Silverman to renew the show, they had a literal lightbulb moment – as in, they had the idea to send loads of lightbulbs to NBC. The show went on to air for another three seasons so, despite what I imagine to be a LOT of broken glass, they successfully saved the show!

11. Defiance

Syfy

This was a rare case where the show creators welcomed and invited fan involvement, via a competition. The TV show was always closely related to a game of the same name, so show creators actually held a competition for the video game, the winner of which would get their likeness into the show itself! 

What cancelled shows do you wish got saved? Let us know in the comments below!