The Save "The Time Traveler’s Wife" Campaign

Despite the recent decision to cancel Steven Moffat’s adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s novel, fans of the time travelling series have rallied for HBO to renew the show or for another network to pick up where the series left off.

The series starred Rose Leslie and Theo James as Clare and Henry, two people destined to live their love story in a nonlinear order. The six-part series was an intricate and magical love story and told the tale of a complex marriage with one massive problem: time travel.

Despite becoming a fan favourite and given the seal of approval by the author herself, many were surprised by HBO’s decision to leave the show on a cliffhanger.

“Though HBO will not be moving forward with the second season of The Time Traveler’s Wife, it was our privilege to partner with master storytellers Steven Moffat and David Nutter,” an HBO spokeswoman told Deadline three weeks ago. “We are so grateful for their passion, hard work and care for adapting this beloved book. We also thank Theo and Rose, and the rest of our brilliant cast for their heartfelt performances, which completely captivated audiences.’

However, the fan base of the beloved series quickly campaigned after the season one finale for HBO to reconsider. With a dedication that mirrors the movements of the fandoms of Lucifer, Sandition and Shadowhunters - the voices of the viewers are demanding to be heard.

In a matter of weeks, the Save the Time Traveler’s Petition had achieved over 5K signatures from fans of the book and show. Currently, the team has a rewatch marathon hosted on Twitter over the next four weeks. Fans have already been tweeting their support and are determined to get #SaveTimeTravelersWife trending on Twitter.

Even some of the cast have shown their support for the show's revival. Everleigh McDonell and Caitlin Shorey - both of whom play the child and adolescent versions of Clare respectively - have shown their support for the campaign and expressed their desire for the show to continue:

Although the series received mixed reviews from critics, many of the fans have praised the adaptation for its faithfulness to the source material and believe HBO’s decision to cancel was made prematurely.

I spoke directly to the women behind the campaign and asked what motivated them to start this movement for a second season of the Time Traveler’s Wife.

“HBO was very late with their marketing and advertising of the show. From the fans' perspective, it felt like they wanted to cut the show even before it premiered so they could cut costs due to their merger.” - @A_Real_Location

“There are so many injustices in the world. Do the right thing. Spread love and renew The Time Travelers Wife, HBO - We want to believe in love and beautiful things. - @Manuela_Abate.

"To find a series that so closely resembles the novel is a rarity of its own. But to come across a series that shows the grit and tragedy of living and the beauty of it all is almost unimaginable. The Time Traveler's Wife does exactly that. Dealing with traumas of rape, miscarriages, marriage, and the absolute depth of love and its imperfections is not something that can justly go unfinished. The author and the actors have voiced their ambition and enthusiasm to finish the series, and now so do the viewers through our petition and ongoing fight to have it renewed or picked up by another network.” - @NomadsAssistant‬⁩

This is not the first time that fandoms have campaigned for a show’s revival or for the show to have a proper conclusion.

The most prominent recent revival of a cancelled show is the popular fantasy crime story Lucifer. After Fox cancelled it after the third season (and on a significant cliffhanger), a massive online campaign followed with the hashtag #SaveLucifer.

Netflix was the network to revive it and ordered an additional three seasons, which allowed the cast and crew of Lucifer to get the closure that the third season wouldn't be able to offer.

Another show saved by the fans was the adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel Sandition. A few years ago, the period drama was cancelled by ITV after just one season. However, passionate fans of the show weren't happy with the news and campaigned for its return. As a result, Sanditon was renewed for two more seasons - which the cast have credited to the campaign known as the Sandition Sisters.

And who can forget the Shadowhunters fandom? Their efforts were not only hailed by the cast, but they went international to save the show based on the books by Cassandra Claire upon the unexpected cancellation in 2018. The viewers self-funded a series of remarkable promotional events, including flying a plane over Netflix's LA headquarters, designing a month-long subway ad in Seoul, putting up a billboard in Times Square and buying bus ads in London.

The team behind the #SaveShadowhunters campaign also raised more than $20,000 for the charity The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youths. The show may not have been renewed, but it was commissioned as a feature-length series finale to give fans an ending they deserved.

With the cancellation only being announced weeks after the first season finale, the momentum for the revival has been fast and very vocal. With the fans eager for the show’s return and for Steven Moffat and David Nutter to have the opportunity to bring Henry and Clare’s story to the screen in its entirety - it remains to be seen whether HBO or another network will hear what the viewers want.

Those who want to sign the petition can do so here, and my review of Season One is also available to read here.

The Time Traveler‘s Rewatch Tweet Party on Sunday at 9 PM (eastern time) will continue on Twitter for the next four weeks with the campaign requesting all viewers to use the original #TheTimeTravelersWife hashtag paired with #SaveTTTW or #SaveTheTimeTravelersWife to get it to trend.