It has happened more often than expected, but when TV shows like “Star Trek” were on the chopping block, fans came together and started campaigns to get the show more time on air.
Also, it doesn't hurt, if the TV series you are trying to save, has one of the world's richest men as a fan.
What Happened: In 2018, Amazon.com, Inc. co-founder Jeff Bezos, currently the second richest person in the world, saved the deep-space drama “The Expanse” from cancellation by moving it to Amazon Prime.
Syfy canceled the show in 2018 after a three-year run. However, by this point, the show had gained a significant following, and fans protested its cancellation.
They rallied on social media to save the show, and lobbied Amazon Studios and Netflix to save to show. The viewers also set up a GoFundMe page to fly a #SaveTheExpanse banner over Amazon Studios' Santa Monica headquarters.
In an interview with Deadline, Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke said, “Jeff Bezos was getting emails from everyone from George R.R. Martin to every captain of industry, like the founder of Craigslist, and they were all writing, saying, there's this show, it's so great, you have to see it, you have to buy it or save it.”
In 2019, the LA Times cited Andrew Kosove of Alcon TV, the show’s producer, who stated, “It's Jeff Bezos' favorite TV show. I believe [the move to Amazon] was because of Jeff Bezos: ‘I like watching the show, so let's make it work.'”
The move to Amazon Prime also allowed for more creative freedom, with the show no longer being restricted by the running time per episode or content restrictions of Syfy.
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At the 2018 International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in Los Angeles, Bezos announced the good news by saying, “Ten minutes ago, I just got word that ‘The Expanse’ is saved,” adding, “The show is extraordinary and these guys are unbelievably talented.”
Why It Matters: After Amazon Prime picked up “The Expanse,” the streaming giant launched three more seasons before ending things again. The show ended with its sixth season on Amazon Prime and as of now, it's highly unlikely that there will be a seventh season.
Based on science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey, the series is set in a dystopian future where humans have colonized the solar system. The planet we know as Mars, where Elon Musk plans to take millions of people one day, in the show has an independent military. And, some rising tensions between Earth and Mars have brought them to the brink of war.
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