So I’ve been taking meetings with various production companies, looking ahead to my next project (hopefully not for another two years) and when the conversation turns to Dark Matter, the response from those I’ve met has been bewilderment and sympathy. Solid ratings, a strong creative and modest licensing fee should have translated to a pickup and yet…
It’s strangely comforting to know that news of Dark Matter’s cancellation has left even industry insiders perplexed.
Upon further reflection, I think one of the issues may have been the rebranding. As I’ve already mentioned, the new slate of shows the network announced run to darker, more paranormal fare which is the opposite of our fun-focused SF series. Also, at the end of the day, beyond the action, adventure, shootouts and dazzling visual effects, Dark Matter is, at its heart, really about one thing: family. It was the theme at the core of every Stargate series I worked on and something I strove to recapture on Dark Matter, this notion of “us against the universe”, the bonds of friendship. It’s no accident that so many of the show’s key discussions take place in the mess hall, with the crew gathered, talking over food and drink like a family at a dinner table. And no accident either that, as the Android eventually gained acceptance as an equal, she came to take a seat at that table and join them.
I’ve always felt that when Stargate fans tuned in, it was, in some ways for them, like connecting with a second family, whether it was SG-1, the Atlantis Expedition, or the Destiny crew. And I feel just as strongly that it’s the same way with Dark Matter. The crew became as much a part of your family as you, our fans, became a part of ours. I don’t know. I suppose that, to certain decision makers, these notions of camaraderie and kinhip might seem old-fashioned or off-brand, but I firmly believe friendship and family are two things that will never go out of style.
And, hey, speaking of friendship and family – thank you, fans, for making our second tweet storm dry run an even bigger success than the first! Monday’s test tweet storm saw #DunkinTheCosmicDonut actually out-tweeting and out-retweeting many of the trending topics. A few adjustments to the fan initiative’s approach resulted in #ItsBubbaTime hitting the top spot in Canada –
Ready to give it one more go before Friday night’s official tweet storm? Follow @DarkMatterFTL for the latest updates on the campaign – and for tonight’s secret Dark Matter hashtag which will be released at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST. Then – storm the castle!
Oh, hey. What’s popular on Netflix?
Might be nice to @Netflix them tonight, let them know they’re loved – and would be loved even more if they picked up Dark Matter for a fourth season.
Meanwhile, THIS, is coming along nicely –
How many of these 30k+ signatories would get a Netflix subscription if it was the exclusive U.S. home of Dark Matter’s fourth season? I wonder…
An update! Discussions continue on finding our little show a new home. Still a long shot but I’m heartened by the interest from a few industry heavyweights who recognize the show’s worth, its potential, and its passionate fanbase.
Finally, I leave you with a little something from the Dark Matter costume department’s Anna Dal Farra who, in addition to her duties as assistant costume designer, pulled double duty as our Dark Matter dog graphic specialist. Here’s her latest…
As always, your continued commitment to Dark Matter is immensely appreciated by everyone involved in the production. Stay loud online. If we manage to pull off this miracle, it will have been thanks to you and your unwavering support!
The Twitter event was fun! I’m glad that it has done as well as you hoped. I’m optimistic. You have all created something great!
It is fun. We don’t ever want it to be a chore.
It helps that the fans have been really supportive. <3
It’s strangely comforting to know that news of Dark Matter’s cancellation has left even industry insiders perplexed. That sounds promising! In fact, your whole post contained lots of innuendo and subtext. Interesting…
I’ll try to tweet tonight. Is it 8 central that we need to watch DM episodes Friday? My son said he’d watch at college but he doesn’t use twitter. He thinks social media is lame. At the very least though, it will help DM ratings on Netflix.
Great photo and caption Anna Dal Farra!
Yes, Tam, I think it’s 8C, 9E, 10ATL
Interesting, I’m getting a subtext meaning too! lol
Watching on Netflix is optional during the tweeting. We aren’t going to coordinate that. Please join us.
Thanks all!
@PBMom! Thanks so much for all your help rallying the troops! Keep up the great work!
Hey Gang! Have fun storming the castle tonight!
Do Dark Matter Proud and lets get Season 4 on @NetFlix!
Those of us here in Florida, currently dealing with the stress of our own fierce storm this week will need some really good news after this weekend.
For this, I’ll be sure to tweet. It’s a shame the show was cancelled despite being one of the leading shoes.
So, I get back from Burning Man after a challenging year, sick as a dog with playa snot plague, and see the cancellation news. I may not be polite when I contact SyFY. It’s an enraged fan thing.
Is there a way for those of us in Europe to contribute? Not everyone over here is going to be able to stay up until 9pm ET. If we could get it trending internationally maybe it will send out even more of a message to other platforms.
If you have TweetDeck (a twitter app) you can schedule tweets. So you could write a handful of them now and then schedule them to be posted during the window. I did that tonight. It let me make a handful of posts, but it also let me focus on replying and retweeting more!
The team is looking at ways to make that happen! This week is a lot of working the kinks out, making sure we have the system down, ect, but this is something we are definitely thinking about.
I’m not great at the whole Twitter thing, but if it helps Dark Matter, I’ll give it my best! Fingers crossed that those “discussions” have some happy-dance worthy results!
Completely agree with everything you wrote, esp. “Also, at the end of the day, beyond the action, adventure, shootouts and dazzling visual effects, Dark Matter is, at its heart, really about one thing: family. It was the theme at the core of every Stargate series I worked on and something I strove to recapture on Dark Matter, this notion of “us against the universe”, the bonds of friendship. It’s no accident that so many of the show’s key discussions take place in the mess hall, with the crew gathered, talking over food and drink like a family at a dinner table. And no accident either that, as the Android eventually gained acceptance as an equal, she came to take a seat at that table and join them.”
Would creating a gofundme page help? Maybe donate the money to a charity at the end with whatever balance isn’t used to help get the show back in production, but in addition to that, it may help to show that fans are really serious about wanting to get at least two more seasons of this great story told.
I have never been so desperate for a show to get a last minute reprieve. Someone please save OUR show.
The cancelation would be easier to take if you had the smallest audience of the Friday shows, but it was quite the opposite, you had the largest. It’s like some kind of sick joke that Dark Matter is facing doom and lesser watched shows are renewed.
I really hope that your Netflix dream or any other network picking up Dark Matter comes true and you keep it going for many years to come. This five season thing pfft. Get a new home and keep it going until you’re no longer welcome on the platform you end up on.
Hi, i write from spain, here want season 4 too but the Twitter events are when we are sleeping, we can help in anything?
Podemos hacer algo en español y en horario europeo?
The tweeting is fab to see and read. Social media is proving a great platform for our Raza Family to be heard. Go #TeamRaza – miracles can, and do happen!
Love the photo and caption, Anna Dal Farra 👍
“…so many of the show’s key discussions take place in the mess hall, with the crew gathered, talking over food and drink like a family at a dinner table. …”
That reminds me of Firefly and that’s exactly why I love Dark Matter that much.
A cool space ship, an amazing crew with great characters played by an excellently well picked cast and adventures in space, no wonder I had some “Firefly vibes”.
I so hope we’ll get more Dark Matter!
Keep up the fight, Joe!
Many greetings from Germany!
Very happy to read your comments. And, LOVE LOVE the photo and caption.
Very cool Anna Dal Farra. Everyone is leaning on poor fiver. 2 and Suki above her. And, 6 & 3 trying to look mean so they can protect the family.
I was worried that the tweet fest might be slow -WOW…it was really zipping along and hard to keep up with tweets, retweets, notifications, etc.
SOOOO COOOOL. I am planning to be “present,” but may be limited to only phone use. Not sure. and I do a lot of “fat fingering” – old age you know.
FRIDAY is the night…and was going to say, will have food and drink.
I found that eating was near impossible with all the action.
BUT….drinking, that was easy….wheeeee.
Thanks for the update. It keeps us inspired to keep pushing for this great show.
Having been the Head Carpenter on DarkMatter since the start, I can say that everyone on the crew has loved the challenges!
It’s not easy to bring the visions of Joe and designer Ian Brock to the stage with impossible time and budget constraints!
Quality show with quality people! Let’s bring it back!
Hey Craig,
Thanks so much for the kind works. It was truly a pleasure.
The sets were amazing!
Yeah, I know, it’s a TV show, but it has been quite inspiring to see so many people coming together in support of it’s continuation. Think about it. Perfect strangers rallying together as one unit; one team to make a positive impact on the future of this show. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything like it. I actually came to Dark Matter via Netflix and immediately liked it. I liked how it was sci-if and yet, in many ways, believable. Not so much in tangible ways but in the intangible ways. Family, acceptance, leadership, love, compassion. You don’t see this very often in television. What you also don’t see are the cast members (and producer) interacting with fans. Including fans into the inner sanctum of the show. This is largely why so many thousands of people are coming together to support this mission. Because you all have treated us like we are a part of your team. So, thank you. Thank you for doing this show. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work on your behalf to see if we can affect the future of this show. Thank you for sacrificing other opportunities (for a little while) so that we can Storm The Castle. It is truly remarkable. Anyway, Joseph, Jodelle, Roger, Melissa, Zoie, Alex, Jeff, I truly hope that things work out in our favor. However, should they not then I wish you much success moving forward. But, for now: #teamraza
Well said!
It’s 11 am work day Friday here, so that makes it hard when you know you need to be working. But Friday 9pm there is Saturday tomorrow so we can go hard.
I appreciate that you keep us posted on everything.
I’ve never tweeted so much in my life but Dark Matter is worth it! The only other thing worth it would have been Firefly!
It’s mostly you, the one, that can get Dark Matter a new home. I wasn’t even this sad when SGU got cancelled as I was Dark Matter. I seriously hope you manage to get Dark Matter and the crew of the Raza 2 more seasons.. if not.. looking forward to your next project! You rock!
Did I miss the post where you gave us the dog poster answers?
Well Why leaving a huge pool of tv viewers without their kind of show..Offering me only Dark stuff (except of the Dark Matter lol)Won’t make me watch them ..I’ll do something else Like i did previously when there was no shows for me.Now that there is something GOOD and obviously very popular in Tv viewers.Why take it away from them?.Thinking I might Watch what THEY like..NO I Wont.Dark Matter must live his 5 Seasons story.Sorry to say but I’m really pissed of how networks Has no ethic to theirs viewers..They should Always give a chance to wrap up their serie if its doesn’t do well ..Do it for the Fans ..the ones that keep your business well.Dark Matter Is doing well and must finish his target of 5 seasons only.
Further more I think That All producers should sign for A minimum Target Seasons or we Fans and you guys will continue to be deceived.This is 2017/2018 and it’s time to Stop this non sense.I Had Too much of my tv series been cancelled..and that’s growing pain and Frudtration to me.Peace and Bring back Dark Matter where it’s should be ..OnAir live
I’m here to do what I can to help. I’m not great at Twitter but, with guidance,and by guidance, I mean step by step with what to do. Speaking of Twitter and guidance, I need to check Twitter to see if my dm has what I need. Me and Beanie love you all!!!
The simplest way to help is to join the Twitter Storm and just hit retweet on every post you see with the hashtag. Don’t even add a comment.
I left Twitter years ago, I just didn’t get the jest of it. Just old i guess. But to support Dark Matter I opened another Twitter account to show my support. What you wrote in your blog is the reason I love your show, family. I always thought Dark Matter got the short end of the stick by SYFY. They never really seemed to promote the show. Since I didn’t know where to look, I never knew the ratings were good. I always got the feeling from SYFY the ratings were just enough to keep the show for another season. Now I see from you that the ratings were really good. SYFY is run by people who don’t have a clue. Let’s keep up the good fight and get Dark Matter back on TV!
Reblogged this on :: my closet catalogue :: and commented:
If any of my readers are even remotely sci-fi inclined, please help us out! Go on Twitter and make some noise! We need Dark Matter to finish its story in 2 more seasons! Syfy channel is a bust, but maybe Netflix can pick us up?!
SYFY kept excellent science fiction properties like The Expanse & Killjoys, and while it’s perplexing that they didn’t also renew Dark Matter, perhaps we can look at this decision from a different perspective; that Dark Matter can fly free on a more expansive (pun intended) platform: Netflix, Amazon or maybe even HBO or Showtime (Stargate’s original home). TV is headed to cyberspace in a big way and cable (especially when 20 minutes of every hour is ad space) is on the wane. Dark Matter has so much potential as a series because it has no limits on where it can go, proven by episodes like “Isn’t that a Paradox.” Even Stargate had some limits Dark Matter often transcends. While I don’t expect Dark Matter Season 4 will explore such concepts as Breaking the 4th Wall (Modern Family hilariously uses this device often), there are so many places it can go, literally and figuratively. This show is a stroke of genius and it deserves a universe to roam free. Maybe this is a sign it will. We won’t give up until it’s unleashed!
I definitely picked up on the use of the mess hall as an emphasis on family/unity. There are several aspects of Dark Matter (including the cast chemistry) that remind me of the best features of Firefly, and I’ve remarked several times it shows what Firefly could have been if it’d been given a chance. That’s not meant to take anything away from what you’re doing — it’s intended as a sincere complement! Here’s hoping for seasons 4 and more!
Okay, thanks PBMom and others with tweeting hints. I got on late tonight but did some tweeting. In my messages, I used #BoobsAndBlasters, @Netflix, and tried to remember to include Dark Matter.
May I suggest a shorter hashtag name. So I don’t have to type so much… 😆 …and maybe I can get thrown in jail too!!
My suggestion: copy and paste it! That’s what I do.
But rumor has it tomorrow’s is shorter… 😀
Also, am I suppose to be doing anything with the @DarkMatterFTL ?
@ All Floridians – HEAD NORTH NOW! Stay safe and God go with you!
I second that! Did you see what Irma did to Barbuda? Scary!!!!
Honestly, the only reason I can figure for SyFy cancelling Dark Matter is that they wanted the timeslot for one of their upcoming new shows. They want to use the renewed Killjoys as a lead in and didn’t want to bother with finding a new timeslot for Dark Matter.
Makes sense.
Ship down! I repeat, ship down!
Unfortunately, Twitter temporarily revoked my account on the grounds that I have been “violating their rules”. I guess they just didn’t like #boobsandblasters. And they don’t seem to like the efficient “copy-pasta” moves.
Joined the fight yesterday and am planing to get things sorted out for tomorrow night’s wave. Sadly, all I can do now is wish you all best of success and be with you on this fight in spirits! Hope things turns out well when I get back in tomorrow, Sigh.
Sounds like you were in twitter jail, a good achievement!
(100 tweets per hour sends you to Twitter jail)!
Well Joe,
I already mentioned on the blog what I thought of the SciFi competition. It was not impressive. I have yet to watch wynnona rider and I did watch Killjoys, but season 3 was as for as I was going to take them. What else is there. NOTHING. Like I said I am not into “undead” etc. I did make time for your show. If I did not have an accident last year I would have been watching like a real person. Now I can go by the nickname Lassiter.
I tweeted until my fingers, eyes, and butt all hurt. But it was a good hurt. The kind you gladly undertake for family.
Seriously, I thought I was getting carpal tunnel syndrome by the end of the hour last night!
Hey, Joe, great post, and I so agree with your points about family and friendship, two big reasons why Dark Matter and SGU were two of my all time favourite shows.
Please don’t change, mate, you’re a legend !
An “aha” moment binge watching DM on Netflix.
The couture of the S2 epi when Victor took Suki shopping at the Dal Farra collection. NICE.
Hey Joe. Abit late in the day I know but reading all my fellow European crew mates wanting to join in but not in the middle of the night – can we do an AU tweet storm at our usual view time say Monday at 8pm GMT. Then @Netflix would see our numbers too?
Interesting you should say darker, because I read an article on Variety with someone called McCumber who is in charge and states that they have spent money on the Marvel films and Harry Pottter universe (amongst other things) to get more veiwers
http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/syfy-reboot-chris-mccumber-krypton-1202423409/
Worth a read
A rebranding exercise? More like the ones in charge of Syfy have no idea what they are doing. Especially since they cancelled their Syfy Original series Blood Drive after one season.., why on earth would anyone start watching a new show on that channel when they don’t even have the conviction to back their own original content!!?
Even though I live in the UK, I will be tweeting tonight to show my solidarity with the DM fans, go TeamRaza!! 🙂
I know this was a business decision of some kind, but SyFy is such a niche channel, I would think they’d want to keep a very dedicated fan base in their pocket. That aside, I love the subject of this blog post. I 100% agree that this show is all about family. I have enjoyed this show from the first episode, but I fell in love with this show after seeing Melissa, Alex, Anthony, and Zoie on Facebook answering fans questions and getting to be themselves. And guess what? They were laughing, playing, and having fun. Like a family! As a Star Trek fan, I’ve seen the cast of Next Generation interact and it was very similar. Here you have this group of actors that seem to genuinely enjoy the company of their co-workers. That comes across on the screen. You can have a great story and great characters, but there is a certain something extra that comes across when the cast is so in tune. As much as I am excited for the possibility of the continuation of the story, I am also excited to see this group get to interact more, and hopefully more with their fans. I love this cast and this show and, no matter what happens, I am a fan of each of them and Joseph’s amazing world that he has created. That said, go #TeamRaza and let’s get this renewal done!!
Just wondering why, in the ever increasing environment of blindside cancellations, shows continue to end a season with a cliffhanger?
I want it to come back on it is a great show. Why leave it the way it went down.
Hmmmm, as Marge Simpson would say. I have a string of rather crappy luck and now this is the capper, but I’m so glad I have my DM eps safe and sound in my amazon library. What makes sci fi great isn’t formulas or strategies, it’s the passion of creative writers joining with talented actors.
I’d love to see an antihero as the lead in your next show, Joe. I’m talking Masked level complex baddies; Saint of Killers/Punisher/Jessica Jones/Spawn level dark sh*t. Those Masked stories really get under the skin, and your story had an indelible lead. Gonna grab my copy of Masked and do some re-reading this weekend.
I don’t believe this was any kind of rebranding. There is probably something under the table that no one outside Syfy knows what is (or are willing to share if knows).You don’t throw away a niche show in a niche channel, with solid ratings and solid fan base. Something stinks in this… just don’t know what is.
Hopefully ppl also remember to write mail to AMC & HBO <3 My Blog @IGN Profile Has good links including Dark Matter Footage etc. 🙂 http://www.ign.com/blogs/eagleheart1980/2017/09/08/help-to-find-a-new-home-for-beautiful-dark-matter-3-sci-fi-fans-unite/ Links include Contact Address for #AMC & #HBO. I've sent mails to both 🙂 Lets share the word while we can <3 Tumblr: https://fedaygin.tumblr.com/post/165115623995/help-dark-matter-to-find-a-new-home-sci-fi-fans
I be Viewing S01E01 on Netflix for example helps in next couple days & pref. tomorrow on saturday. Cast and prod. crew need to find new projects soon if no Network or Streaming Platform not saving Dark Matter.. *That thought out of the head..* Understandable as set need to be taken down & is harder to set up on a Sci-Fi serie. Hope that AMC or maybe HBO Gives Dark Matter new Home. If HBO then to Cinemax would assume as HBO owns it. Season 4 & 5 and then maybe further later when have good support. #SciFi #Space #TeamRaza
Hi Joe,
It’s been a very long time since I’ve visited your blog. I was unaware until I read this post that Syfy was going down the paranormal horror route of tv shows. I did suspect it though.
As someone that is neither American nor Canadian I do not know what network the shows I’m about to mention air on or aired on. Outside of Buffy and other Whedon products, Supernatural, possibly Walking Dead – there has never been a decent paranormal TV show. I understand horror shows are also ‘cult’ shows but I dislike them.
I like both Killjoys and Dark Matter. From a storytelling perspective they should leave Killjoys ending where it is. From liking the show I’m glad it continues. However so should Dark Matter. (Not to mention Two could kick Dutch’s backside)
From my outside perspective they are the only two shows on Syfy worth any time.
You guys with Dark Matter have brought together all the best sci-fi elements from Stargate, Star Trek, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica etc. I wish you all the best with this campaign.
I am a. Little lost for words. I would not bother writing about average shows. However, Dark Matter is light years from average.
Its somewhat illogical to cancel, the fan base is huge and certainly very active, the commercial numbers and viewing are all top notch too.
Frankly I’m a little sick and tired of networks cancelling good shows, without or any care for the actual subscribers.
If Syfy are rebranding, I’m unsure what they’re trying to achieve? Sci-fi is the core element. But no.
Sadly ratings outside ofNirth America are pretty much discarded. Syfy execs may well not be aware of a continent too the right of New York, on the map past the blue stuff called Europe?
Mr showrunner please do what you can to bring this phenomenal show to a new home and write season four and five!!
Thanks for all!