Tom Ellis Single-Handedly Saved Lucifer, Here's How
'It was the most vindicating, wonderful experience,' the actor described his efforts in a recent interview.
Summary
Premiering on Fox in 2016, Lucifer proved to be a success despite its shortened episode count. Centered on the eponymous biblical character portrayed by Tom Ellis, the show offered a more human perspective on the fallen angel, who instantly won over audiences with his naughtiness and charisma. And apparently, the actor did much more for the show than just provide an appealing lead character – he saved Lucifer from cancellation.
Tom Ellis's Protest Against Fox's Quiet Cancellation of Lucifer
The first three seasons of the beloved show aired on Fox. But even though it was a hit, the network decided to cancel it. But they wanted to do it quietly. So much so that if the showrunners hadn't given the cast a heads up, the actors wouldn't have known until the very last minute.
'I found out that Fox still hadn't announced that they had canceled it yet. So we [the cast] knew, but no one else knew. And then someone tipped me off, I'm not gonna say who, but someone tipped me off that Fox had planned to kind of bury the news of the cancellation by announcing something else at the same time that following weekend. I had a lot of emotion going on, a lot of these things,' Tom Ellis shared on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast.
'And I decided that I would take it upon myself to tweet that I had found out that the show had been canceled and I was absolutely gutted, and I'm sorry to everyone. And I did that before the announcement.'
The Fruit of Tom Ellis's Labor
According to the actor, he was worried about his actions, but was pleasantly surprised to receive an outpouring of positivity and support from Lucifer's fans. More importantly, his little stunt brought the show to the attention of the studio.
'Eventually, I got a call later that weekend from a guy called Peter Roth who was head of Warner Brothers TV – Warner Brothers was our studio and they made it [Lucifer] for Fox – and he said, "Tom, I want you to know we're not ignoring all this stuff that's happening on social media. We're going to try and do something about it,"' Ellis revealed.
To top it all off, the actor also gave an interview to BBC Newsnight where he talked about the changes in the industry and the sudden cancellation of Lucifer. And all the buzz and attention Ellis managed to generate led to Netflix picking up Lucifer, which ran for three more seasons on the streaming service.
Source: YouTube.