The fan campaign to save Netflix’s Shadow and Bone isn’t pure fantasy – it could actually work

Shadow and Bone’s fanbase is conjuring a plan to save the show

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Shadow and Bonefans are summoning the masses in a bid to revive the cancelled Netflix show on another streaming service.

Last Thursday (November 20), we reported thatShadow and Bonehad been cancelled by Netflixafter its second season, which was released in March, underperformed. That’s in spite ofNetflix users trying to game viewing stats to preventShadow and Bonebeing cancelledin the first place. The writing, though, appeared to be on the wall forShadow and Boneseason 3 (and the show as a whole) after Netflix confirmed thatOne Pieceseason 2 was in the worksone month after the live-action anime series' impressive debut in August.

ButShadow and Bone’s fanbase is as loyal as they come – and they’ve proven as much in the wake of the show being consigned to the scrap heap. In the days followingNetflix’s announcement, the live-action series' devotees have launched a ‘SaveShadow and Bone’ campaign on social media. Fans have taken to platforms including X (formerly Twitter) to express their outrage at the show’s cancellation and, under the #SaveShadowanBone hashtag, keep the series in the public eye.

(S1 ep3) #SaveShadowAndBone @netflix @NetflixGeeked Netflix: “care to back down?”The fandom: pic.twitter.com/DU5nT1qf9RNovember 19, 2023

To help boost the campaign’s profile, fans also set up aChange.org petitioncalling on some other notable streamers to revive the show and give it the send-off it deserves with a third and final season. At the time of writing, the petition has just under 122,000 signatures.

It’s unclear if one of Netflix’s rivals – fans have askedDisney Plus,Hulu,Prime VideoandMaxto rescueShadow and Boneon the petition – will grant that wish. However, fans are certainly making their voices heard, and it appears that their campaign to keepShadow and Bone’s light shining bright is slowly gaining traction.

Eric Heisserer,Shadow and Bone’s showrunner, took to the series’Reddit pageto express his profound gratitude to fans for trying to save the show. Indeed, according to Heisserer’s sources, a petition to saveManifest– a beloved supernatural sci-fi series that was ironically saved by Netflix following its cancellation on NBC – took two weeks to reach 100,000 signatures.Shadow and Bone’s achieved that feat in less than four days, which shows how dedicated its fanbase is.

Meanwhile,Shadow and Boneis currently part of the ‘Trending’ section on Netflix’s home page in the US and UK. Its fans, then, are determined not to let it fall by the wayside like so many other Netflix shows before it.

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That’s no guarantee thatShadow and Bonewill find a new life on another of the world’sbest streaming services, however. There are plenty of Netflix TV originals that have been lost to the annals of time, including big-hitters and beloved series like1899,Archive 81, andFate: The Winx Saga. You can find more examples in ourNetflix cancelled showsguide.

Yet the ‘SaveShadow and Bone’ fan campaign could actually work – and one of its fellow fantasy shows, which was also unceremoniously dumped by Netflix earlier in 2023, serves as proof of that.

In May, Netflix pulled the plug onWarrior Nun, another fan-favorite fantasy series, after two seasons. Unsurprisingly, the show’s fanbase was livid, and immediately set to work to ensure that the series survived in some form. Three months later, the unwavering fan campaign was hailed a success afterWarrior Nunwas confirmed to be returning, albeit in the form of a movie trilogythat won’t debut on Netflix. We don’t know when or where these three films will be available to stream yet, but at leastWarrior Nunwon’t spend the rest of its days in purgatory.

Shadow and Bonefans, then, know what needs to be done: remain vocal in the weeks and months ahead.Warrior Nun’s fanbase has shown what’s possible if they remain steadfast in their approach, and anything less than unwavering dedication to the cause will surely result in the show’s demise. As the famousShadow and Bonequote suggests, though, there’ll be “no mourners, no funerals” if the franchise’s followers ensure that one of thebest Netflix showslives to fight another day elsewhere.

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As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.

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