Well—there was the Young Justice revival. I actually did a giant writeup about the fan-effect on an earlier blog, which I'll DM to you if you're interested.
But here's the short version.
In like 2010 the guy who created the cartoon Gargoyles in the 1990s launch a DC superhero show on Cartoon Network. It was surprisingly good, and it massed a cult following. After Season 2 it was summarily cancelled to much wailing and gnashing of teeth. There were all the usual online petitions, &c, but to no effect.
The thing about the creator (Weisman) is that he was kind of ahead of the curve in engaging with fans of his show online. There was a website where he'd post his answers to fans' questions about Gargoyles in the mid-1990s, and apparently he answered MOST of them. He's really engaged with and receptive to his core fanbase.
I don't know/can't recall too many of the details about the fan campaign(s) or how much of a role it/they played in WB/HBO/whoever they are now's decision to relaunch the show on DC's short-lived streaming service, but Weisman has more than once credited the revival to YJ's passionate cult following.
For a number of reasons, the revival--well, it wasn't very good. But one glaring new issue was that early 2010s YJ was made for a general audience on a basic cable channel, whereas late 2010s-early 2020s YJ was made for the superfans. Before it was cancelled again, the last season practically had Young Justice Twitter in the writers' room. By that point I had aged WAY out of the thing (in spite of the awkward attempt at rebranding it from a TV-Y7 to a TV-14 affair) and was watching it just to gawk at how *weird* it had made itself.
Yes, if you search for "Serenity" you'll find the relevant section! It's there because fans were tasked with promotion and then punished when it didn't go as well as expected.
Well—there was the Young Justice revival. I actually did a giant writeup about the fan-effect on an earlier blog, which I'll DM to you if you're interested.
But here's the short version.
In like 2010 the guy who created the cartoon Gargoyles in the 1990s launch a DC superhero show on Cartoon Network. It was surprisingly good, and it massed a cult following. After Season 2 it was summarily cancelled to much wailing and gnashing of teeth. There were all the usual online petitions, &c, but to no effect.
The thing about the creator (Weisman) is that he was kind of ahead of the curve in engaging with fans of his show online. There was a website where he'd post his answers to fans' questions about Gargoyles in the mid-1990s, and apparently he answered MOST of them. He's really engaged with and receptive to his core fanbase.
I don't know/can't recall too many of the details about the fan campaign(s) or how much of a role it/they played in WB/HBO/whoever they are now's decision to relaunch the show on DC's short-lived streaming service, but Weisman has more than once credited the revival to YJ's passionate cult following.
For a number of reasons, the revival--well, it wasn't very good. But one glaring new issue was that early 2010s YJ was made for a general audience on a basic cable channel, whereas late 2010s-early 2020s YJ was made for the superfans. Before it was cancelled again, the last season practically had Young Justice Twitter in the writers' room. By that point I had aged WAY out of the thing (in spite of the awkward attempt at rebranding it from a TV-Y7 to a TV-14 affair) and was watching it just to gawk at how *weird* it had made itself.
Definitely interested!
Your note on how it shifted from being for a general audience to the hardcore fans makes me think of a lot of brands of today....
Is the link to your article about Firefly correct? I don't see anything about it in the linked article.
Yes, if you search for "Serenity" you'll find the relevant section! It's there because fans were tasked with promotion and then punished when it didn't go as well as expected.
Oh right, I forgot that was the name of the Firefly movie!