Tom Ellis Saved Lucifer With a Tweet and a Positive Fan Community

How Netflix saved Lucifer from cancellation and renewed it twice is one of streaming’s biggest success stories, and it began with a Tom Ellis Tweet.

Perhaps one of the greatest strokes of irony is how a television series about Lucifer Morningstar and murderers became one the greatest examples of positivity in modern entertainment. Based on a character created for comics by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg and M.R. Carey, the story of a show about a crime-solving Devil is an example to fan communities everywhere. Series star Tom Ellis saved Lucifer from cancellation with a cheeky tweet, but it was the positive fan community that kept it alive on Netflix.

Fandom communities and campaigns to save canceled series are not new things. With Netflix especially, everything from Arrested Development to Warrior Nun(which is set to become a film series), have fans to thank for their second acts. At a time when toxicity in fan communities runs rampant, the campaign to save Luciferstands out as a new example for how fans can have an impact in the changing media landscape. From the campaign to save the series to watching the first Netflix season in such high numbers the streamer had to renew it, “Lucifans” are an example to all. They didn’t harass anyone nor did they attack any executives or producers they felt were to blame for the show’s cancellation on Fox. Rather, Lucifer fans channeled their love for the series and its characters into positive outreach. Along with letting Warner Bros. Television know Lucifer had fans, they invited new people to join the party.