‘Lucifer’ joins list of canceled TV shows with new lease on life
“Lucifer,” the supernatural crime show that Fox canceled last month after three seasons, was rescued by Netflix on Friday — the latest prime-time series to be revived after cancellation by another outlet.
Despite low ratings on Fox, “Lucifer” has a passionate fan base that started a #SaveLucifer campaign on social media after its cliffhanger Season 3 finale and subsequent cancellation.
The show is Fox’s second recent casualty to be resurrected on another platform. “Brooklyn NineNine” was picked up for a new 13episode season on NBC last month.
Meanwhile, Fox itself resuscitated “Last Man Standing,” one year after ABC killed the Tim Allen sitcom after six seasons.
Cancellation isn’t quite the automatic execution it used to be for TV shows.
Since program-ownership rules were relaxed in the 1990s, “we saw the networks gravitate toward content produced by their own studios,” said Stacey Schulman, chief marketing officer for ad firm Katz Media Group.
“So it’s not surprising if shows in danger of being canceled go to other networks” that own them and profit from selling reruns to other outlets.
After spending seven seasons on NBC, for example, “Scrubs,” produced by ABC’s parent company Disney, jumped over to ABC for two more.
At the same time, viewers have used social media to amplify their protests, adding an influential voice.
Fans immediately took to Twitter to protest “Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s” cancellation after five seasons.
After fan outcry, “The Expanse” was picked up by Amazon after it was dropped by Syfy. And last year, NBC gave a reprieve to “Timeless” — a fate that seems unlikely this year.
Netflix is now considering a rescue of another canceled show, “Designated Survivor,” if it can wrest U.S. streaming rights. Kiefer Sutherland starred in the drama, which ran for two seasons on ABC, as a low-level cabinet member who became president after a terrorist attack.
In 2013, Netflix also revived “Arrested Development,” which had four seasons of low ratings on Fox from 2003 to ’06 before it got the ax.
Netflix also brought back “Gilmore Girls” for a short run in 2016.
Other shows have been brought back to see if there’s anything left in the tank. Earlier this year, ABC brought back “American Idol,” after more than a decade on Fox, and Showtime reintroduced David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.”
Other factors also have changed the dynamics in favor of second chances. More cable and streaming services mean more potential homes for shows with loyal fan bases, including some for which the size of the audience is less important.
In recent years, canceled network shows have jumped to cable (ABC’s “Cougar Town” to TBS, ABC’s “Nashville” to CMT, NBC’s “Southland” to TNT). And streaming services have picked up others (Fox’s “The Mindy Project” went to Hulu, and NBC’s “Community” to Yahoo).
Some canceled cable shows also have moved elsewhere (A&E’s “Longmire” to Netflix; FX’s “Damages” to DirecTV).
Some credit online campaigns by fans of “Lucifer” and “Timeless” with keeping those shows alive.
Although enthusiastic online campaigns are no guarantee of a show’s survival, “They’re direct evidence of a fan base that does not want a piece of content to go away,” Schulman said.
Networks “used to say, ‘We’re getting fan mail or hate mail.’ Now, they can capture all of that in social media,” she said.