OFMD May Still Have A Chance: 7 Shows Saved By Fans

Max's decision to cancel David Jenkins' pirate romantic comedy Our Flag Means Death (OFMD) after Season 2 came out of the blue earlier this month and sent millions of fans into a spin.

The creator had always been clear that he had a three-season plan for the show, and its massive fandom had come to terms with the idea that they would have another year or two to sail with the beloved pirate couple, Ed Teach and Stede Bonnet.

Now, unable to believe that this dream has been cut short, the passionate, dedicated OFMD fans are putting up a real fight for their favorite show.

Max's accounts and feedback forms are flooded with comments expressing love for the series, the hashtags #SaveOFMD and #RenewAsACrew are trending on social media, the renewasacrew.com website has gone live, and the petition to save the show has been signed by over 50,000 supporters.

It all looks like a very well-organized and heartfelt campaign. But do the fans have a real chance of saving OFMD? As a matter of fact, the history of Hollywood has seen more than a few cases where fans have saved their favorite shows from cancellation.

Here are some of the most significant examples.

Star Trek (1966-1969)

Yes, if OFMD is saved from cancellation hell, it will join a club with such an iconic show as Star Trek, which started the legendary franchise. Back in 1968, NBC tried to call off the show after two seasons, but fans organized a huge letter-writing campaign and even held demonstrations at NBC headquarters, which convinced the big bosses to renew the show for a third and final season.

Futurama (1999-2003, 2008-2013, 2023-present)

Matt Groening's animated sci-fi sitcom is so popular that it refuses to end. A new season just aired on Hulu last year. Its longevity is due in large part to a fan campaign in 1999 when the show was abandoned by Fox.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2018, 2019-2021)

In 2018, Fox decided to axe the cop sitcom after five seasons, much to the dismay of many viewers. Luckily, the #SaveBrooklyn99 fan campaign garnered just enough attention for NBC to pick up the show. The result was another three comedy-filled seasons.

Friday Night Lights (2006-2008, 2008-2011)

The high school football drama garnered a massive following in its early years on NBC. So when the network dropped the show after the second season, an uproar ensued. Fans sent light bulbs with the line 'Lights On' scrawled on them to NBC offices. This saved the show and led to NBC striking a deal with DirecTV to co-produce three more seasons.

Community (2009-2014, 2015)

When Dan Harmon's sitcom was canceled by NBC after five years, fans bombarded TV Guide's annual poll to ensure the cast of the beloved show would be on the magazine's cover. This convinced Yahoo! to pick up Community for another season. In addition, in 2022, Peacock has announced a feature film that will serve as the series' conclusion.

Lucifer (2016-2018, 2019-2021)

Speaking of giving a series a proper send-off, that's what Lucifer fans accomplished when they launched the #SaveLucifer campaign after Fox ditched the show in 2018. The pleas and petitions resulted in Netflix stepping in and giving Lucifer its sixth and final season.

The Expanse (2015-2018, 2019-2022)

The campaign to save The Expanse after its cancellation by Syfy was one of the biggest in Hollywood. Fans signed petitions, wrote to networks, and even rented a plane with a 'Save The Expanse' banner to fly over Amazon Studios, hoping that the giant would be the show's savior. Luckily, Amazon bosses listened to the fans and the sci-fi show got three more seasons on Prime Video.

So it looks like OFMD still has a chance to survive the cancellation, what do you think?