Fans helped save ‘Timeless’ – can they now save ‘Last Man Standing’?

With so many streaming services in need of content, a show cancellation on a major network has become more a suggestion than a death knell.

So which other recently cancelled shows have the opportunity to be saved by fans? Amobee, a marketing technology company, analyzed the digital content engagement around this topic and the show most likely to be saved is the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing.  The show is currently generating the second most real-time reaction on Twitter. Between May 10 -14, 2017 there have been 7.8K Tweets around the hashtag #LastManStanding.

“The reversed cancelation for Timeless illustrates just how much value networks put on audience engagement, as opposed to television ratings alone in determining what shows to go forward with,” said Jonathan Cohen, Principal Brand Analyst, Amobee. “Similarly, the high level of engagement around Last Man Standing following it’s cancelation, indicate that from the audience’s perspective there’s still significant interest in a seventh season, either on ABC or on a different network. Decisions about what TV shows to renew is more than ever a two-way conversation with fans; and networks with the best listening skills around digital, will have a significant edge over competitors in programming for the future.“

• As the Upfronts close the book on the 2016-2017 TV season, the TV show with the most Canceled related digital content engagement between April 14 – May 14, 2017 has been Powerless with Doubt generating 91% as much Canceled related digital content engagement. The cancelation of Powerless by NBC generated so much digital interest because the workplace comedy was set in the DC universe and comic book shows traditionally generated a high amount of digital interest regardless of TV ratings while Doubt was a Katherine Heigl courtroom drama that was a rare high profile misstep by CBS. Powerless was pulled after 3 episodes while Doubt after two episodes aired; shows that flame out quickly receive more Canceled related interest than shows that gradually lose viewership because the speculation over when shows with poorly rated premiere episodes will be canceled starts almost immediately. In the same month time period, Good Girls Revolt received 74% as much Canceled related digital content engagement as Powerless; Pitch had 64% as much Canceled related digital content engagement as Powerless; and American Crime generated 54% as much Canceled related digital content engagement as Powerless. Amazon chose not to renew Good Girls Revolt for season 2 with viewership figures for the period feminist drama never disclosed, while Fox decided Pitch, a show about a female baseball player didn’t make the cut for next season; and ABC concluding that they didn’t want to bring American Crime,  their prestige anthology crime drama back for a fourth season.
• In terms of real time reaction, the canceled TV show that generated the most interest on Twitter technically isn’t canceled anymore. The time travel drama Timeless was canceled on May 10 by NBC and then uncanceled on May 13, with NBC deciding based on the fan outcry over the cancelation, to bring the show back for a 10 episode second season after all. Between May 13-14, 2017 in the two days around the announcement that Timeless hadn’t been canceled after all; there were 27.5K Tweets around Timeless, 15.8K Tweets around the hashtag #Timeless, as well as 5,292 Tweets around the hashtag #TimelessRenewed, and 3,206 Tweets around the hashtag #TimelessResuscitated.
• Last Man Standing is the show cancelation that generated the second most real-time reaction on Twitter, as between May 10 -14, 2017 there have been 7.8K Tweets around the hashtag #LastManStanding and 5.6K Tweets mentioning both Last Man Standing and ABC. The channel canceled their second highest rated sitcom, depending on who you ask ether because of rising production costs or because of the political leanings of star Tim Allen. During that time period 0.4% of all Tweets mentioning both Last Man Standing and ABC were Neutral towards the cancelation, with 99.6%of those Tweets upset that Last Man Standing was canceled, with most of the audience expressing that the show was discontinued for political reasons.
• Since that cancelation, again meaning May 10 -14, 2017; 28% of all Last Man Standing digital content engagement has mentioned theConservative politics of Tim Allen in discussing the show.