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8 Times Fans Mailed Items to Studios to Save Their Shows
Dedicated TV fans will go above and beyond mere letter-writing to rescue the shows they love. We've already covered a few shows that fans staged mail-ins to save; here are a few more.
1. Red Vines for Fringe
When the sci-fi sleeper Fringe looked to be in jeopardy after its ratings-slow third season, fans mailed 200 cases of Red Vines licorice to Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly. The candy was a nod to a main character on the show who frequently munched on them, even while performing autopsies.
Did it work? Indeed it did. The show came back for season four and concluded at the end of season five. Star Joshua Jackson publicly thanked the fans for their sweet support and acknowledged that they were largely behind the decision to renew.
2. Socks for Reaper
Reaper was a quirky little show on the CW about a bounty hunter for the devil and his slacker friends. Maybe it was a little too quirky for the general population, because the ratings weren't there, and the show was on the blocks after the first season. In honor of a character nicknamed "Sock," fans sent in—wait for it—socks. Hopefully clean socks, but I'm guessing that might not have been a priority.
Did it work? It did—fans were granted a second (and final) season.
3. Sunflower seeds for The 4400
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USA Network’s sci-fi show The 4400 was hit with a triple whammy after its fourth season in 2007: Low ratings, the Writer’s Guild Strike, and budget problems meant that the show wasn’t slated to come back for season five. Inspired by a sunflower seed-spitting character on the show, fans managed to get corporate sponsorship to harass USA head honchos into renewing the show. Giants Sunflower Seeds company sent roughly 6,000 bags of the snacks to USA.
Did it work? No. The fourth-season cliffhanger wasn’t even resolved.
4. Wine corks for The New Adventures of the Old Christine
Though Julia Louis-Dreyfus was the first to break the Seinfeld curse, The New Adventures of Old Christine was still canceled after five seasons. Fans of the show conspired to send CBS their old wine corks in support of the neurotic Christine.
Did it work? It did not. But I bet CBS execs took the wine corks home and made all kinds of killer Pinterest projects.
5. Mars Bars for Veronica Mars
Cult favorite Veronica Mars was axed after its third season in 2007, fans sent the CW a deluge of Mars Bars—more then10,000—thinking the combination of fan support and chocolate might make execs comply.
Did it work? Not really, but thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, Cloud Watchers will be visiting Mars again soon.
6. Daisies for Pushing Daisies
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I loved Pushing Daisies and now feel somewhat responsible for its demise. I didn’t know that fans were sending studio execs daisies and daisy seeds to protest the quirky series’ cancellation after a mere 22 episodes. What if they were just one seed packet away from agreeing to renew for a third season?
Did it work? Sadly, no. But fans are hoping for a Veronica Mars-like Kickstarter revival.
7. Pants for MTV’s I Just Want My Pants Back
When the MTV comedy-drama was canceled in 2012 after just 12 episodes, die-hard fans rushed Viacom headquarters in New York and L.A., draping their unwanted jeans, khakis, and track pants over the company sign and on the lawn.
Did it work? Nope. Not even a little. Still canceled.
8. Flashmob for Community
OK, so fans of Community didn’t send anything to NBC, but they did gather outside of 30 Rock to participate in a protest flashmob. Participants wore fake beards and sang “O Christmas Troy.”
Did it work? Yep. The reason for the flashmob was that fans kind of panicked when they noticed Community went on hiatus in the middle of the 2011-2012 season, which is usually not a good sign. But the show resumed regular airings in February of 2012, and as of May 2013, it has been renewed for a fifth season.