Whoa! I’ve already written about how blown away I was at the response we received following the news of the cancellation, but Dark Matter fandom continues to amaze. Witness, for instance, this –
A petition in support of the show has amassed over 15k signatures in 48 hours. I had a cast member point this out to me today and they were overwhelmed by the love. Thank you.
Also, thanks to all of you who continue to sound off on the various social media platforms. I’m all over reddit and Facebook, but much of the activity is on twitter where I’m, quite honestly, having a hard time keeping up with the deluge. I want to try to acknowledge all of your posts (I’m unemployed now. I’ve got all the time in the word!) but it would help to have a single hashtag Dark Matter fandom could unite under so you’re all easier to track. I’ve seen #DarkMatter, #RenewDarkMatter, #SaveDarkMatter, and many others, including a few that incorporate “Syfy” in, uh, interesting ways. So, I throw it out to you, the fans. How about a fresh start with a new Dark Matter-related hashtag?
Tom Gardiner and his team are organizing a worldwide Dark Matter tweetfest (Hey! FTLFridays is back!) using the #TeamRaza hashtag, which is cool (details below).
In the past, fans have also used #RazaCrew.
Ennis Esmer, Dark Matter’s nefarious Wexler, suggested #DarkMates.
Some have suggested #Marauders as well.
What do you all think? Let’s hear you.
Update! Since putting it all in perspective for you yesterday, we’ve reached out to several possible new homes for our little series and are presently awaiting word. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the odds are long – but the initial conversations have sounded very promising. I also mentioned that these things take time, so I don’t expect definite word for another week, maybe two. But again, as soon as I know something, YOU’LL all know something. I promise.
Finally – as we all try to do our part to ensure Dark Matter gets to finish its story, I just wanted to ask some of you not to waste precious time and energy mistakenly targeting those deserving of our appreciation and support.
Killjoys, Wynonna Earp, and The Expanse are terrific productions that earned their success and pickups. They’re three very different shows but they all share a few things in common: a fantastic cast and crew, a terrific fanbase, and some very talented individuals at their respective helms. Michelle Loretta (Killjoys), Emily Andras (Wynonna Earp), and Ty Franck (The Expanse) do really great work, and they’re really great people too. When news of the cancellation broke, all three immediately reached out. They didn’t have to but they did. It was very classy of them and it’s something I won’t forget. Just wanted you all to know.
A few broadcasters are also being caught in the crossfire as well. Please know that Canada’s Space Channel and Netflix have been nothing but wholly supportive of the show and are no doubt as disappointed as any of us by these recent developments. In fact, while I was visiting FanExpo this afternoon, Morgan Hoffman and Ajay Fry, who have long reviewed Dark Matter for Space Channel’s Innerspace, briefly interrupted their signings to come over, offer a consolatory hug, and let me know how much they truly loved the show.
You know who also loved Dark Matter? SyfyInternational. I’m talking SyfyDE, Syfyla, Syfybr, SyfyAU, Syfy_Spain, SyfyFr, SyfyPT, SyfyME and especially SyfyUK. In fact, they loved it so much that they gave fans their very own after show, After Dark.
So there you go.
I leave you with pics of the swag I picked up at today’s FanExpo. Notice a theme?
Thanks for the update Joe. I will keep tweeting my support of Dark Matter until the crew is back where they belong.
I really can’t understand how people think that the renewal of the other shows somehow came at the expense of Dark Matter’s renewal. They are clearly separate issues and like you say each was well deserving of their situation.
It’s heartening to hear that some avenues appear to be at least a little promising. The show clearly has value – an established property with an enthusiastic, good sized fan base would seem to be a no-brainer for a pick up.
Hoping for the best!
I like #TeamRaza, seems like an easy one to get everyone to use.
I also like “Marauders” as the Dark Matter equivalent to Firefly’s “Browncoats” (of which I would be both).
And I hold nothing against the individual shows (love me some Wynonna Earp) but Syfy (and USA for the same reasons) can go suck it, they put out some quality stuff but they (both) seem to randomly cancel their shows a season or two early without any real reason or warning on the worst of cliffhangers.
For me
#DarkMatter is Home
#Razacrew is Cast and Fans
For public in general I like when the word DarkMatter is in the #
#TeamRaza idk im a bit meh with it..make me think of a random Sport Team 😉
for now I have no suggestion mb later 😛
Lots of love and support. Continue to feel hopeful. Best of luck!
#SavingDarkMatter
#DarkMatter2MoreYears
That’s really cool, man. I kind like Esmer’s suggestion; #Darkmates cause I kinda just regard the crew of the Raza as just that, the crew that’s on the Raza. Like, how Adrian and Solara useful, but not the legends. #TeamRaza is the most simple though, but I still gotta go with the former 😛
Instead of blame Canada, it’s Blame SyFy. #SaveDarkMatter
We are rounding the wagons to write a comprehensive social media strategy that’s based off of what worked for other shows. We will share when we’ve got it written up!
Why do people still believe SciFi is for kids????? I loathe AJ Fry on Space….so childish… time for a personnel change.
The Expanse is top of the block as far as SciFi options these days!
Dark Matter and Killjoys are strong contenders in the market for solid Space Operas.
SyFy mystifies on it’s decisions…
So Sad that the Canadian market doesn’t have enough support for shows like DM.
I don’t want another Firefly!!!!!
Too bad SyFy International can’t pick up the show. Hmmmm…
Hey Joe I have seen more than one
petition to renew Dark Matter for season 4
#DMForce #DarkMatterWarp
I signed the petition with enthusiasm Joe. I really hope our fan support can make a difference because we need a proper conclusion to all the story threads. I was so looking forward to a Stargate alum making an appearance too.
I will keep positive thoughts.
DARK MATTER rocks!! 😃
If you want to study how something like fan outcry brought back a cancelled show, maybe look at Timeless on NBC. I don’t know the circumstances that caused NBC to reverse the cancellation, but they did.
Nearing 17k signatures. Not sure what weight the petition will carry but it can’t hurt.
FWIW we’ve loved the show down (under) here. It’s formed part of a trio for our household (Dark Matter, Killjoys, Expanse). I haven’t had the heart to break it to my daughter, we’ve enjoyed watching Dark Matter together, so I’m hoping a rabbit pops out of a multi-dimensional hat somewhere/sometime and saves the show before I have to 😀
What about the Aussie and NZ fans joining the twitter campaign we should count too ..
Joe,
I can’t believe I’m back here on the blog reliving the same sense of disappointment and upset I had when the news came through about SGU. Here’s hoping that we can get a commitment from the other sources. Dark Matter was far and away my favorite sci-fi series on with the Expanse a close second and Killjoys rounding out the top three. Is here anything that those of us who are not on the socials can do outside of signing petitions?
I’m not really active on the socials but I’ll do what I can. I like #TeamRaza but I’m wondering if it really should have the name of the show in the hashtag. We should totally be on the same page about which hashtag to use, whatever it turns out to be.
I have no hate towards the renewed shows. I love The Expanse, I occasionally watch Killjoys and haven’t seen Wynonna Earp at all.
I don’t really even hate SyFy. They’re a business and they need to make business decisions. They’ve obviously run the numbers and don’t see a profit in Dark Matter. Other networks/distributors will do the same. If we want Netflix, for instance, to pick the show up then we need to show them that new episodes of Dark Matter exclusively on Netflix will bring in new subscribers and keep subscribers that are thinking of cancelling. That’s a tough sell given the saturation of subscriptions Dark Matter’s likely demographic already has.
Fingers crossed!
I have a Twitter Poll that asks if Netflix picked up Dark Matter Season 4 would you subscribe & watch? It needs a huge signal boost, so for anyone on Twitter please vote & share. Perhaps it might be best as a website poll for those not on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/renewdarkmatter/status/904620398083432449
Cheers, Chev
My twitter account is pathetic.. I follow about 10 people, 2 followers fro me. I forget to go on months at a time, so I’m not help there. But I still like #SaveDarkMatter better than TeamRaza.
Few moments to read… try an up and coming new writer. 🙂
For 3 bucks… worth giving her a shot. I found the book to be delightful.
https://smile.amazon.com/Child-Humanity-Alyse-N-Steves-ebook/dp/B01K06ORZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504514057&sr=8-1&keywords=alyse+steves
I have known the writer since she was a young teen… expected juvenile junk. I was wrong. She is a doctoral program at Emory university… lots of brains and talent.
praying for an alternate source, we need 2 more years.
I spected at least 2 more seasons and now they are cancelling Dark Matter, i’m very dissapointed. I hope to see Netflix rising their hand to take this show and give you one last season. I already signed the petition, let’s wait and see if you can end your show properly.
I go with #SaveDarkMatter, i believe that it is already used in twitter and it states clear the message that we want :).
#TeamRaza is pretty good! Thanks so much for updating us!
I hope Netflix brings back Dark Matter. Who knows, maybe they will give a lot more money for S04 than Syfy did and we’ll get more and perfect quality space battles and maybe more episodes! 😀
Reblogged this on Darke Conteur and commented:
This is an incredible show. From the first episode I was hooked.
Hi Joe
It helps to understand about trends, these campaigns and fandom.
Firstly, the Fandom name was set a year or two ago. It’s #RazaCrew. The campaign is a little different. I’ve been trying to co-ordinate a campaign to find the show a new home with @RenewDarkMatter Twitter account. UIltimately that is the goal – to find a new home for the show. I think the main issue is that there are too many people doing the same thing. There are several petitions and trends planning. I have been sending all of my ideas to Tom merely because he has more followers and hence a larger reach. There really isn’t a campaign team though and I think we need one. I’m happy to be a part of this. You are right Joe, the campaign needs a tag to keep track of what’s planned. It would be great to have a campaign headquarters website like on Tumblr or WordPress where we could put the information fans need & link on social media.
There are lots of tips around to get the best chance of trending. I can share what I know from my experience with trends in the Arrow Olicity Fandom. It needs to be really well organised to work, especially as some fans have never participated in trends before.
The best chance to trend is using unique phrases and hashtags. Capitalisation needs to be exact. My ideas for phrases include: DARK MATTER WILL RISE and RAZA CREW STANDS STRONG. Include positive content with the phrase or tag – what you love about the show.Add GIFs/images – they get RTd more. Interact with the tweets. If you’re asleep, use Tweetdeck to schedule tweets.
Cheers, chev
Anyway that’s a few ideas for now. We need a campaign team first to plan the weekly trends etc. Who is in and has time?
Cheers, Chev
I just had an idea for a campaign poster – like a dog adoption ad to find a new home. Do you like it?
Cheers, Chev
Actually the dog adoption concept would work as a video too.
Cheers Chev
PS Wish me luck. Job interview tomorrow for a casual library job.
“Never give up, never surrender!” – Taggart, GALAXY QUEST. #SaveDarkMatter is my goal until it’s back on the air in Season 4!
Another day with some welcomed good news. I think everyone will hold their fingers crossed that you will hear something from the possible “new homes” you have reached out to.
While I do not use Twitter and the likes I think #DarkMatter or #SaveDarkMatter makes the most sense because the other suggestions could easily be mistaken for something else (like for example cudaker has pointed out #TeamRaza really does sound a lot like a random sports team).
As far as the possibility of European channels picking up a show after it was cancelled in the US – this reminds me of the brilliant “Due South” that ran from 1994-1999. When CBS pulled the plug in 1996 (probably because it did not do well in the US but very well elsewhere) and sold the rights the show was picked up by three European channels and then ran for two more seasons. I sincerely hope that something like this will happen to Dark Matter as well.
Well Joe thanks for bringing the serve to me. I know people were upset and wanted to know what they could do. I spent time signing Facebook to put my name to the list. I have expressed my opinion of the other shows. They don’t match the quality and depth you and Paul put in put out for every show. Try to do more when I am at my computer not phone.
That was very classy of the other shows to contact you. I don’t blame them for DM’s cancellation. I blame SyFy. I know I’m being petty but all this fan blowback is like a neener neener to Syfy’s board. 🙂 The best revenge would be having another network make a ton of money from DM.
As for the hashtag, #TeamRaza is fine with me.
OMG
I have signed too the petition. By the start i saw 5k supporter by the petition, now after 1-2 days 19k people want dark matter alive, i think this is a ,,number” whatever say, think syfy.
We as fans do everything whats possible to support the ,,Raza crew”.
Activating blink drive!
Dear Mr. Mallozzi : Thanks for the update. We fans want the Dark Matter story to have its 5 year run.The SciFi channel ( I refuse to use Syfy)has a nasty habit of cancelling good science fiction shows and keeping trash. I can name 2 examples, Farscape and Continuum. Hopefully, some other network sees the value of good quality expressed in Dark Matter and picks up the show. YHS, Mary & Richard Lord
Joe, there is an issue with all of these hashtags. To get it to trend in an algorithm you have to choose ONE hashtag. So one could write:
Correct tweet that counts for trending: Dear @Netflix Please give Dark Matter a S4 b/c _____________ (fill in the blank). #TeamRaza
Incorrect tweet that will be discarded in the algorithm for trending: Dear @Netflix Please give us #DarkMatterS4 b/c ______ (fill in the blank). #TeamRaza
It really matters. If people are going to do this, it won’t trend. ONE hashtag. Everybody uses the SAME ONE hashtag. The people of Fringe discovered this a long time ago when they got in contact with Twitter.
Co-sign!!!!!
Thanks for the update Joe.
I hope that Dark Matter can continue it is a great show.
Also I hate SyFy they RUIN everything I wish there was a better alternative for great Science Fiction in the US.
#DarkLivesMatter
Whatever #Hashtag we decide on, I’ll use it. BUT I will also add other hashtags to reach even more tweeters.
I found out, that my #farscape tweets – of course with #SaveDarkMatter incl. –
gathered quite a large stream of retweets, probably because the #scapers are ALSO on a mission to get a new Farscape out. 😛
Gigi Edgley herself RT’ed one.. and with her huge follower base it made quite an impact.
Anyway – I keep trying to find new outlets to target – the more who gets onboard the merrier, right?
I’m sure Blockbuster Online could be a home, or Viaplay. Both stream good shows.
Btw Joe – sorry for my rant on here, when I first heard about the cancellation. I was in a dark – no pun intended – place. 🙂
Hey all: This is your assignment for today from the committee working to find it a new home (I’m on it):
Do you want to help get Dark Matter on Netflix? Act now! We need to let Netflix know that we want more Dark Matter, and Tweeting won’t be enough – we need to contact Netflix directly. We need to get them as many requests as possible.
Time is of the essence; contact Netflix today!
•Call 1-866-579-7172
•Email pr@netflix.com
•Fill out the form! https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest
•If you are a Netflix subscriber – watch and rewatch Seasons 1 and 2
Please tell everyone you can to do this. We need to be heard that we want the show on Netflix, and we need to have the numbers to prove it’s worth it to them!
If you email or call, frame it not as “saving” Dark Matter but instead of think of it in terms of why Netflix should want Dark Matter. It’s a great show with a fantastic overarching plot, great characters, a diverse cast, a solid 2 more seasons of story, and a lot of fans! Let them know you want them to support Seasons 4 and 5!
Hi Hilda
What campaign committee? I’ve looked and there is nothing here. Who is on it? Is it a Twitter thing?
Cheers, Chev
For the https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest form, I think we should try to list it all the same. I listed “Dark Matter Season 4” to make it clear that I wanted them to pick up the canceled series.
How long do you have to campaign for a rescue of the show before your crew has to start dismantling the sets? If Netflix picks it up, would you get to stay at the same studio?
I’ve made a personal appeal e-mail to Netflix as one of their many subscribers. Didn’t even bash SyFy (much). Just a suggestion for anyone else who does the same: It couldn’t hurt to include your demographic info. They know who their target markets are, show them you’re one of them.
I wish that I had seen you there, it would have been a pleasure to shake your hand. Don’t give up. The fan support is there. BTW, did you happen to see the Five cosplay? I didn’t get the chance to get a photo, but it was great! I’ve signed the petition and retweeted on Twitter and my FB blog page.
#teamraza is okay as a fan thing but I think that the # needs to include DarkMatter so that it is easily identifiable to the average watcher and not just something identifiable to hard core fans.
Sorry I didn’t bump into you at Fan Expo. Would have like to have told you you’re not in this fight by yourself!! (I guess I just did)
Only one hashtag. You can certainly use more than one hashtag any other time but it won’t count in the trending algorithm. Everyone has to make an effort to do this when we do it or it won’t count towards trending. Dark Matter has been used too much; we will be using an unique one each week. Watch for details here on the blog.
It’s nice to see all the support and ideas for you and the show. I think the show name should be the hash tag on Twitter #DARK MATTER. Goes to the point.
Best wishes, lots of love and thank you for sharing your creativity. You are an important writer that should be enjoyed by all!! I also can’t imagine Syfy without you. Their loss.
My first love of Scifi came from Star Wars. It fueled my fire, making Scifi my favorite genre. Stargate was the second show that rekindled and reinforced my love of the genre. Its been all puppies and kittens from there. Farscape, Firefly, and Andromeda are some of the many great shows that filled the black hole need in me for space operas. And Dark Matter has it all, evil parasite aliens, rogue heroes, dangerous space obstacles, androids, stowaways, stasis, cool weapons on a cool space ship and so many genius creative technological inventions that are normally produced from Scifi. I don’t get it. Maybe they don’t like the corporations being vilified, hahaha. I hope Dark Matter gets its due ending Joe.
As for the swag you picked up, what is the theme? I’m having a brain freeze. Is it villainous aliens?
We can’t. In order to trend, we’ll need unique tags. We can write Dark Matter in the post (with NO hashtag) but the group coordinating this will let everyone know what to tweet. We need to all be moving in the same direction, doing the same thing in order for this to work. We’re taking our cues from the successful Fringe and Longmire campaigns who already worked a lot of this stuff out.
They cancel Dark Matter, but I bet there will be another crappy Sharknado movie in a few months. Go figure.
I literally cried when I heard the news. Anthony Lemke’s instagram post was the first message I read from the cast and this is what I wrote on his video….
” 😥 I’ve no idea how SyFy could have come to this conclusion. Dark Matter was a breath of fresh air with a cast that worked so incredibly well together. The whole package; the show, the amazing sets, the cast, the effects, not to mention the writing… omg so well written… I haven’t seen a good sci-fi show so well put together in a long time. I can only hope it’s picked up elsewhere or hope for a movie to tie up loose ends but this was one show I didn’t want to see end. #razacrewforever #renewdarkmatter”
I refuse to believe that this is the end of #TeamRaza and can’t wait to hear good news.
Dark Matter fans have come to chew bubble gum and kick ass and we’re all out of bubble gum
As much as I love Dark Matter, I wouldn’t want to see a show that has been renewed, lose it’s status just to get Dark Matter back. I’d rather that Syfy (or some other avenue) found the revenue to get the show back.
If those 15,000 signatures would ALSO commit to buying at least one thing from the ad-breaks for each Dark Matter episode, that might be something. When you buy something from the ad-break, send an email to the company with a scan of the receipt, and say “Hey, I bought this because I saw your ad during my favourite show, Dark Matter”. How could any company/advertiser not love that?
Great show bring back it is good as the original star trek series and like star trek it could be a great movie series
I’ve signed the petition and I’m buying the available seasons of Dark Matter on DVD. I’m not sure but didn’t DVD sales helped persuade the financiers to the movie after Firefly? Whatever helps.
War is is not over. We will not go down without a fight. Long live the Raza crew.# Dark matter😀
How’s about #darkmattermatters ! Glad Killjoys gets to finish their storyline at least.
#DarkMatterMatters is better, the other hashtag really is about dark matter. Haha
#DarkMatterMatters is better, the other hash tag really is about dark matter. Haha
With NetFlix, Hulu, etc all competing for content one of them will likely create a continuance, hopefully NetFlix so we can binge at our own convience.
I was crushed to hear of the cancellation, and have made a point of reaching out to the cast to say so, and now to you. I learned within ten minutes of the cancellation that it happened, and used #SaveDarkMatter and #SavetheRaza as my initial hashtags, but will move on to your suggestion. Personally I would like SyFy to rectify the situation, call you back and say, “We made an error,” but you seem to indumicate they are somehow stupid enough to stick by this dumb decision of theirs. I was glad to hear Killjoys got renewed and all–y’know, anything to keep Aaron Ashmore in work–but presented with the choice of cancelling a series, choosing the one where all the story arcs are cliffhanging verses the one that nearly tied up all the plotlines in a spectacular finale seems idiotic. Please let the cast and crew know how much they mean to us all out here in reality and especialky give Melissa, Jodelle, and Zoie hugs, because I know from what they all posted that they cried when they heard the news, and no one, but no one, makes my favorite girls cry and gets away with it. We’re all out here fighting for y’all to get a chance at two more seasons at least. So Save the Raza! We’re happy to be your army.
With love and commitment to the cause–
Burwood
Okay first, “indicate,” not “indumicate.” My autocorrect is aggressively wrong. And after “presented with the choice of cancelling a series,” just reverse those two–I mixed that sentence up there. My bad.
But I’m sure you knew what I meant.
Save The Raza!!!
Pleae renew. I love this show. It’s better than Killroys.
Please please renew. I love this show. You left a lot of questions unanswered. Was looking forward to the 4th season.
I really hope this is successful. Lots of great shows that were cancelled have been renewed this way, The Killing, Longmire, Arrested Development, Jericho. Keep pushing hard. I know we will.
I started looking at the different hash tag and my favorite has to be #raslivesmatter
Joe,
Sell it as a Major Movie plot. You have a major intro with the arrival of the Black ships, and a fairly strong opening fan base for it.
Keep Dark Matter, I will drop SYFY if they dont
So many antiheros but those tees do look great, I’ve always wanted to buy out the tee shirt stand at conventions but then I’ll see a comic book I wanna buy or I’ll run off to a panel and forget all about it. Now I got tee shirt envy.
Sure hope you find a way to keep it going. This was one of the few shows I really enjoyed and kept up with. Money rules all, to hell with the show and it’s fans, I guess. Petitions signed, emails sent. Maybe they’ll take the hint, or another network will take notice. Really hope so…
#SyFyBlink seems about right for a hashtag that says it all
My heart is BROKEN!!! I absolutely love the show and the cast. I really hope Netflix saves the series. This show is by far one of the best I’ve ever seen and I’ve grown so attached to the story and its characters. Pleeeeaaaaaassssseeeee season 4!!!!