#and that hasn’t been renewed either it just hasn’t been canceled

[theghostofalittlevictorianchild]

The internet when yet another wlw show gets cancelled

#it’s me I’m the internet #warrior nun #paper girls #first kill #the wilds #literally all the other ones that I don’t have time to list #wlw #sapphic #at this point I’m pretty sure aloto is the only one I have left #and that hasn’t been renewed either it just hasn’t been canceled #also willow but no one rly talks abt it #aloto

[boldlyvoid]

Home Alone...

Aaron Hotchner x Male Reader (he/him pronouns) | CM/911 crossover

Summary: it's Aaron's first Christmas with Jack away at college.

Warnings: May Grant/Jack Hotchner, Aaron misses his son, first angst with a happy ending, reader loves him so much he'll do anything for Aaron, food mentions

Word Count: 2.9k

Jack called him on the 18th, his plans for Christmas had changed. 

Originally, he was going to get on a plane on the 22nd and make his way from LA to DC where his dad would pick him up. They’d spend his break together and he’d head back to school on January 2nd. He was worried about his final projects, being away from his new girlfriend for so long (under 2 weeks) and he was worried that it would snow and he wouldn’t get back in time for class on the 5th. 

All this anxiety caught up to him and ultimately, he cancelled his flight. 

“Bobby and Athena said you can come to California and have Christmas here? They have lots of food, they feed a literal army every year,” Jack explained, trying to make him feel better. 

“That’s okay,” Aaron assures, smiling at him through the FaceTime camera. “All that matters is you feel okay, I’m sorry you felt so stressed out.” 

“I just hate leaving you alone this year,” Jack worries.

“Hey, I’m not really alone, Y/N will be here,” he reminds him. “We’ll be fine… but tomorrow I’ll send your gifts out, I’ll expedite them so you get them in time.” 

“Even if I don’t, I’m still thankful,” Jack smiles right back. “Thank you for understanding.” 

“Your first Christmas with your first real girlfriend is a big deal… I remember how pissed my mom was when I was with your mom for the first year and we just lived down the road. I’d never want you to think I’m mad at you for doing what you want to do.” 

Jack smiles, “thank you for being so cool.” 

“thank you for being even cooler,” Aaron teases him. “What did you get May for Christmas?” 

“A new laptop bag and some perfume,” he shares. “I think she’ll like it, she’s been obsessed with that blueberry milk trend, it’s like a muted baby blue colour and her current cover is clear with stickers on it… and then I got her that daisy perfume just cause it’s a cute bottle and it does smell like something she’d wear already.” 

“That sounds really thoughtful,” Aaron swoons. His little boy was growing up way too fast, but at least he was a gentleman. 

“And I got her mom a necklace, I’ve noticed she wears a lot of jewelry when she’s not on the job so I thought it would be nice,” he explains with a little proud smile. 

“That’s so sweet of you,” Aaron cheers him on. “And for Bobby?” 

“That’s harder to do… he’s a chef but he has everything he’d ever need and he doesn’t drink so a lot of dad gifts aren’t up his alley so I’m still trying to figure it out,” Jack slumps in his seat. Defeated a bit. “And when you google gifts for firefighters everything is alcohol-related too, or like an engraved axe that he doesn’t need.” 

“He seems very practical from the way you’ve explained him to me… maybe get him something for the house like a good flashlight for the earthquake kit or a new first aid kit for his car?” Aaron suggests. 

He nods, “Yeah… he was saying it’s almost time to renew the earthquake kit and make sure it’s all stocked up.” 

“You can go to any store that sells camping goods and get dehydrated meals which last a while and batteries are always a good thing to have lots of,” Aaron explains. “He’ll love it. He’ll know you care about his family as much as he does and it could bond you two a bit better.” 

He nods along, “Thanks, dad. May can’t wait to meet you too, you know?” 

“Yeah?” He smiles. 

“Her moms heard of you, you’ve helped her detective friends with cases but she’s a sergeant so she hasn’t had the chance to meet you either, but they think you’re cool.” 

“I’ll try and get out there soon,” he assures. “I miss you a lot, buddy.” 

“I miss you too, Dad,” Jack solemnly smiles. “Seriously though, you could come out here… We can get you somewhere to stay, you can come to Christmas at Mays and I can show you some of my favourite places?” 

“I’ll talk to Y/N and see what we can do,” Aaron smiles, knowing it probably won’t happen. 

—

When Y/N gets home from work, he comes right over to Aaron's house instead of going to his own apartment. They’ve been doing this for a while now, he honestly might as well move in at this point. So much of his stuff is at Aaron’s, they’re happy this way, and this is their 3rd Christmas together so it’s really about time they make the jump to something more. 

He puts his things down, kicks off his shoes and makes his way to Aaron on the couch. “Hello, handsome,” he leans in for a kiss. “How was your day?” 

He shrugs, “Not that bad… but Jack isn’t coming home for Christmas anymore.” 

“Oh no,” his heart breaks for him. “Baby, I’m sorry, what happened?” 

“He’s just so anxious about the snow we're expected to get when he has to go back and if his flight gets delayed then he won’t make his class in time and you know him,” he explains. Jack is just as time-sensitive as his dad. 

He pulls Aaron in for a hug, holding him close, “It’ll be okay, we’ll get to see him soon. We’ll find a way to make it good here with just us.” 

He nods, “I know… it’s just weird.”

“He’s your baby,” Y/N sympathizes. “I’m so sorry… did you want to go out there this year?” 

He shakes his head, “I don’t want to intrude.” 

“Did they invite you?” 

He nods, “Yes, but—

“Come on, we can go?” He encourages. “It’ll be fun. We can get a nice hotel or an Airbnb and after Christmas, we could go to the beach and have like a real vacation for once.” 

Aaron sits back and sighs, “Maybe.” 

“What is it?” He pries. 

He shrugs, “I don’t think I want to meet her family yet. I’m not sure I’m ready for all that. I liked it more when he wasn’t dating and I didn’t have to think about him getting married one day and moving away and being in California all the time.” 

“You don’t have to stay here,” Y/N reminds him. “You can leave whenever you want, you’re retired and you have the money to relocate, you can go wherever he goes.” 

“But I want you with me,” he whispers, pulling him in closer. 

Y/N straddles his hips and cups his cheeks, “yeah?” 

He nods, “I don’t want to go anywhere without you, my love.” 

He swoons, “I can come. I can put in for a transfer and we can go to LA or Orange County or something-- hell, we could go to San Fransisco and it would still be so close to him.”

“I love you,” Aaron smiles. “I love you so much.” 

“I love you too… and I was thinking, since we’re on this topic—

“You can move in,” Aaron knows what’s coming. “I never want you to leave. We can put all your things up here, you can make this place yours and you can put your work stuff in my office since I don’t even use it anymore.” 

He smiles. “I’m going to start packing soon… but right now I have some cheering up to give you.” 

—

The tree lights are on, and they have matching drinks of half coffee half hot chocolate and store-bought cookies… his lover is cuddled into his side while they watch a random Christmas show on Netflix. He’s happy, but he’s sad at the same time. 

“you okay?” Y/N asks. 

He nods, leaning in to share a quick kiss. He smiles against his lips, “Thank you.” 

“You miss him?” 

Aaron nods, “I do… it’s been 3 months. I haven’t been away from him this long since he was in WITSEC.” 

“I know baby,” he rubs Aaron’s arm with a slight pout, feeding off his unhappiness. “We’ll see him soon. We can go out there and visit at any time.” 

“I know…” he leans back against the couch and sighs. “I’m sorry, I’m ruining Christmas.” 

“No, you’re not,” he assures Aaron. “Here,” he reaches out for his phone and googles something. He spends a couple minutes tapping around and then shows Aaron his phone. “We leave at 2am, we can sleep on the plane. Come on, let’s go pack.” 

“What?” Aaron can’t believe it. 

“I’ll explain in the bedroom,” he instructs, hauling him off the couch. “We have bags to pack and then we need to head to the airport. I should have an Uber come here…” 

“How did you—

“You’re not the only one with connections, hot stuff,” he teases.

Aaron pulls him in for a kiss, holding him close to his chest, he breathes him in deeply. When they pull back there’s an audible smooch sound and they break into matching smiles. “I love you.” 

“I love you,” he reminds Aaron. “Now come on, let’s get you to your boy.” 

—

The flight isn’t too long, it’s pretty packed but they had decent seats. There weren’t any crying babies or complaining older women, so they managed to sleep pretty easily. The landing was… not as smooth as Aaron was used to when he was at work but, they got there in one piece. 

He has Athena's phone number in case of emergencies, like if another earthquake hit LA and he couldn’t get ahold of Jack… He’s not sure if she wants casual calls, but he takes the risk while waiting for their rental car to be brought around to the front, he dials her number and he waits. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, this is Aaron Hotchner, Jacks dad…” 

“Oh, hello, what a pleasure to finally talk to you, how are you?” She asks, kind as ever with the sweetest slightly southern accent. 

“I’m good, uh, me and my partner are here in LA we—

“You decided to come!” She cheers. “Do you have a place to stay?” 

“We do, we got a hotel last minute,” he can’t help but smile. “I just wanted to make sure we were still invited to Christmas?” 

“Absolutely! I can text you the address and you can come over as soon as you’d like. We’re having a little bit of everything for lunch soon and then dinner is at 6,” she explains. “Does he know you’re here?” 

“No, we’re going to surprise him.” 

“He’s still in bed— he’s in my son's old room, don’t worry. But I’ll keep this a secret for you,” she assures. “This is going to be such a wonderful surprise.” 

“And you’re sure it's—

“No intrusion at all, agent,” she teases him. “It’ll be lovely to have you.”

He manages to laugh, “I can’t wait to meet you, thank you again for the invite.” 

“You’re welcome here anytime,” Athena assures him. “See you soon.” 

“Bye,” he smiles as he hangs up and waits for a text with the address. “Thank you,” he looks to his boyfriend. 

He smiles and wraps his arm around Aaron, “Anytime my love.” 

—

It doesn’t take them long to get their things set up at the hotel and then head over to the Grant-Nash household— but not before getting something to bring to the party. 

Aaron knows from Jack that Bobby, May’s step-dad, is a recovering alcoholic and that while he’s not tempted to drink when his wife has wine… Aaron just rather not bring that into the house. So, they opt for a dish. They stroll around a Whole Foods for a while, thinking of what could be the perfect thing when they stumble across cheese and tomatoes in the shape of a candy cane with balsamic glaze on top and a loaf of fresh bread. It’s perfect. 

They grab some sparkling cider and a bouquet of flowers for Athena and then they’re on their way officially. He’s a little nervous, his leg bounces while Y/N drives and he reaches over to place one hand on said bouncing leg. He rubs him with his thumb and gives him a quick smile before returning his attention to the road. It’ll be okay, Aaron knows that. 

This is just such a big step in a person's life. Not only is Jack's girlfriend meeting his family, but both families are going to be in one room at the same time. They’re all meeting. This can make or break a couple… and he hopes to every force or earth that it just makes them stronger because Jack is so, so happy.  

When they arrive, they have to park on the road as there are so many cars already in their driveway, they really weren’t kidding about it being a big party. 

He holds the flowers and drink, Y/N has the dish they bought and they walk up the long driveway to the most beautiful little bungalow in all of California. He knocks 3 times with a bit of hesitation and it takes all of 20 seconds for someone to answer. 

And to their surprise, that person who opens the door is May. 

“Oh my god?” She bounces with excitement. “You made it?!”

“Hi,” Aaron smiles, instantly all the anxiety leaves his body with how happy she is to see him and his partner. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, May.” 

“come in,” she steps out of the way and lets them walk right in. “Let me take that, you can take your shoes off if you want but we don’t really care. The party is just down the stairs here.” 

“Who was it?” Another woman asks while walking around the corner. “Oh, Aaron, hi,” she lights right up as she climbs the stairs to meet them. 

“Athena?” He confirms before going in for a hug and she smiles. 

“The one and only,” she teases as she wraps him up. “It’s so good to see you, Jack was worried about you having a Christmas alone.” 

“It was his idea,” he says as they part, pointing to his partner, “this is my partner, Y/N.” 

“Jack has told us all about you,” Athena assures as she goes to give him a half hug and then she takes the dish he was carrying. “Come on down and meet everyone, Jack's out in the garden with Bobby making the turkey.”

“He said he’s never seen someone deep fry one before and he’s intrigued,” May teases. “Actually, hold on, stay here,” she insists. 

She heads over to the back door and leans against the post, “Hey Jack? Can you come here for a second?” 

Athena puts the dish down on the table and rushes to the door, “Bobby, you too. Leave the turkey with Hen, she can handle it for a moment.” 

They come into the room with the same expression, confused as to why they’ve been called in and then Jack sees him. 

“Dad?!” His jaw drops and his eyes grow 10 times the size they were before and within seconds he’s rushing to his dad and wrapping him up in the biggest hug. 

Aaron holds him so close, he hasn’t seen him since August and that felt like 6 years ago. This one hug makes up for all the time passed, he kisses him on the temple, unable to believe how much taller he’s gotten. Before, this same kiss would’ve been to the top of his head… he pulls back and cups his face in his hands, “When the heck did you grow up on me?” 

“I ask myself the same thing every day,” Bobby teases, stepping forward to shake his hand next. 

Jack gives Y/N the same big hug as he gave his dad, it’s cute how much they love each other too. Aaron shakes Bobby's hand, it’s big and rough and he can sure tell he’s been a firefighter for years… and he’s handsome. Really handsome. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Aaron manages to say. “Jack talks about you and Athena all the time, I’m so grateful for you taking him in while he’s been out here.” 

“He’s been a joy to have around,” Athena assures. “With my son in Florida with his dad, it’s so nice to have another boy in the house.” 

“I was making too much food for just the 3 of us, I wasn’t used to it,” Bobby teases. “He’s helped a lot.” 

“And I love taking home leftovers,” Jack teases, still holding onto Y/N around his middle. “This is such an amazing surprise dad, when did you decide to come?” 

“Last night,” he admits. 

“He was so sad,” Y/N shares. “I hated knowing how much he missed you so I impulse bought two red-eye tickets.” 

“Well, we’re glad you could come,” Athena assures. “I’m sure you’re hungry, come eat, we’ve got enough for everyone.” 

“Come on Dad, you’ve gotta try Bobby’s Caesar salad dressing,” Jack all but drags him to the table with the biggest smile he’s ever seen on this kid. 

Seeing him this happy is all he wanted for Christmas, and boy, does he hope that this happiness— this new family he’s found, lasts forever. He deserves nothing but the best, and this group he’s been brought into, they’re just that. 

General Taglist 

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife @buckleyhans @mrs-ssa-hotch @ssavanessa22

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotch x you #hotch smut #hotch x reader #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

#SavetheWinchesters

Summary - Based on the recent campaign for #SavetheWinchesters. Jensen’s in a rough place after his project gets cancelled and his wife is by his side to help him through it.

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x reader

Masterlist

A/N - I just wanted to put out an imagine for you guys for this campaign. Side note: As much as I adore the Ackles family, this work of fiction has the reader as his wife and I have not named their kids because the way I see it JJ, Arrow and Zeppelin only exist in a world with Jenneel. 

Jensen has been locked in his office for over an hour since leaving to take a quick call from the network. While you have been working on the project together it means a lot more to him than you. Plus, your kids are always a little more fussy and full-on when Jensen is home and it takes everything in you to distract them. You dread to imagine what would become of the house if you left them alone for an hour in their current hyperactive state. But when you hear the clock chime to indicate an hour has passed you start to become concerned. You know the show is hanging in the balance and the call was likely to confirm or deny your chance at a second season. You know there would be a lot to discuss either way; if they renew they’ll want to start discussing arrangements, whereas if it’s cancelled you know your husband would fight for it. Although you haven’t been a part of this side of things often, it still seems like it’s taking too long. Letting your anxiety and curiosity get the better of you, you set up the kids with a cartoon and some fruit snacks and make your way upstairs to Jensen’s office. You listen from the other side of the closed door for a minute, but when you’re met with silence you decide to knock quietly and come in, closing the door behind you.

“Hey, Baby. How’d it go?” you ask cautiously as you make your way over to your slightly dishevelled-looking husband. You can tell he’s run his hands through his long hair about a hundred times. He barely looks up as you wrap your arms around him from behind. He briefly meets your eyes in the reflection of the dark computer screen. He hasn’t been crying but you can see that he’s on the verge, sitting on the precipice between frustration, hopelessness and sadness. You kiss the top of his head. “It’s gonna be okay. I know it hurts now, but we knew this was a likely outcome. You’ll find something else. You’re a highly talented, extremely sexy man, you’ll find something-”

“I don’t want something else!” he shouts, slamming the laptop shut. He pulls away and starts to pace.

“Hey, Jen, Baby. Look at me. We’re gonna work through this.”

“I’m not ready…I can’t just let him go.”

“Dean?”

“You don’t have to,” you say as you slowly approach him, “He’ll always be with you.” You take his hands in your own and squeeze them softly. 

“It’s not enough! There’s still so much story to tell! How am I supposed to tell the cast? They’re such good actors and people and they’re just getting thrown aside to save a few bucks.”

“They’ll understand. They’re all incredibly talented too. The Winchesters just helped get them seen. They’re all gonna flourish in their careers.” He just sighs and you pull him into your arms and hug him tight. “How about we go downstairs and watch a movie with our little munchkins and try to destress? We don’t have to figure this out right this second. Give yourself time to process it and then we’ll discuss the next steps.”

When he nods slightly against your head, you pull away and pull him downstairs with you and lead him to the couch where your kids are waiting for you. They take no time distracting Jensen by climbing all over him and telling him about how they’d helped you make cookies while he was working. Smiling at the scene before you, you hurry off to the kitchen to remove said cookies from the oven. You pour out a glass of milk for each of you before transferring the ever so slightly cooled cookies onto a plate. When you return with the tray of milk and cookies they’re all snuggled together watching Sing, much to your husband’s dismay – although deep down you know he’d happily watch any movie on repeat as long as he has his family around him. You place the tray on the coffee table and take a seat at the end of the couch. While you’d love to snuggle with your kids or husband you know he needs them much more right now. By the time the credits roll, the kids are fast asleep with bellies full of milk and cookies. 

You look over and sigh, “So much for a healthy lunch.”

“We’re allowed a cheat day,” Jensen says, smiling at you from across the couch. 

“You know, that movie actually got me thinking…”

“A movie about singing and dancing animals made you have a revolution? This’ll be interesting.”

“Shut up, dumbass.”

“That’s a dollar for the swear jar.”

“They didn’t hear me.”

“You’re lucky.”

“Anyway!” You roll your eyes teasingly. “What if we start a campaign to save the Winchesters? Just hear me out. You know there’s a massive following for it, I mean they’re your excuse for leaving me every other weekend to travel to a different state or country for conventions…So, why not get them involved?”

“How would it work?”

“If we show the moneybags that there’s a following for this show then maybe someone else will pick it up. Maybe we even lean on that Amazon deal we just sealed. But for starters, we break the news and then ask those tech-savvy kids to help create a video and spread it online. We’re not the only people that love the Winchesters.”

“And you got all that from a singing gorilla?”

“Among other animals, yes.”

“You’re a genius, you know that?”

“Well, you got the looks, so I guess I gotta be the brains.”

“You got both, Sweetheart. How did I get so lucky?”

“I don’t know. I just keep waiting for the hellhounds to show up.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Early the next morning you and Jensen sit down at the island bench in the kitchen to do a group call with Meg, Drake, Jojo, and Nida. 

“Hey, guys!” you say as the video connects. You spend a few minutes sharing greetings and exciting stories about everything that’s been happening in your lives since you last saw them.

Eventually, you cut in, “So, we actually have some news and we need your help.” You look over at Jensen, squeezing his hand out of frame.

“Yeah. Uh, I got a call from the network yesterday. They’ve decided not to renew our show for a second season. I’m so sorry guys. You’re all phenomenal and deserve so much more,” Jensen says.

“Which is why, we had the idea to campaign to save it. That’s where you guys come in. We need videos and just constant engagement on social media to get the fans involved. We need to prove that we have a following and deserve to be renewed. You guys all deserve it.”

“Looks like we got work to do,” Drake cuts in.

“Yeah! We need a hashtag!” Jojo says.

You spend the next hour discussing plans to promote the hell out of the show. Jensen agrees to do his best to discuss with Amazon about the new deal, while the rest of the crew start making signs and planning the video. Once you all say your goodbyes you go about getting the content you need for the video. Firstly Jensen goes upstairs to film a heartfelt and intimate video to address the viewers while you make a simple sign with just the hashtag ‘#SavetheWinchesters’. You would speak too but you don’t want to take any time away from the real talents of the show - this is about them. 

Everything comes together really quickly and smoothly. You’re beyond impressed, proud and hopeful. As soon as the network publishes the decision you’re ready to go live with the campaign. Hit it fast and hard for maximum impact and support. You know it could be a long process but you’re just glad that your husband is more hopeful and focused for now. And if it doesn’t work, at least you can say you tried, and you’ll pick up the pieces then.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

#supernatural #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles #jensen ackles x y/n #jensen ackles fic #jensen ackles imagine #jensen ackles fluff #dean winchester #supernatural fic #spn #savethewinchesters #save the winchesters #the winchesters #SavetheWinchesters

[h4lcyonism]

This might sound flippant but I don’t think we should worry Too much just yet. Not only did we have the Justine league crossover movie this year, we ALSO had volume 9! And that was after a two year wait period. RT had a lot of pies and also with the reputation thing it’s probably not wise to hold the convention because if people only come for rwby, they’re paying a lot of money for essentially empty spaces. Not that ppl still don’t like stuff AT RT but in terms of rwby yeah.

We’re used to quick turnarounds when it comes to the volumes but that was also Not good for the people making it. It’s still way too soon to consider rwby canceled considering it hasn’t even been a full year since the last volume wrapped. We don’t have any Good News, but we also don’t have any Bad News which I think is good to keep in mind

And who knows maybe we’ll have information in the summer or fall despite no convention. Don’t lose hope just yet. It’s not over until we get the word.

And even if V9 is the last season while bittersweet it doesn’t detract any of the joy we already have and can still have by rewatching and talking to others in the community <3

rooster teeth as a company is crumbling. if it doesn’t have the funds to justify hosting the convention they’ve held since rwby’s debut, then it certainly doesn’t have the funds to justify hiring back the entire animation team, paying the prominent out-of-house voice talent, and selling their biggest moneymaking ip off to another company.

and while that would be the best case scenario, likely being sold to crunchyroll, that still doesn’t give rwby stability for the future beyond v10. and production would likely be very different, and we wouldn’t be able to solidly predict the quality we would typically expect from a volume.

states fearfully at gen:lock season 2

i truly don’t mean to fearmonger, but i’ve been one of the more hopeful people about a rwby renewal. at this rate, with how much work it’s taking to get v10 even greenlit, the possibility of v11 happening is even more shaky. the crew knows this, which means the writing will probably be framed in a way to wrap up the story in just one volume, which is impossible.

that wouldn’t be the writers’ fault, but it’s not what the show deserves.

either way i look at it, there are aspects that aren’t ideal. it’s not in question that rwby’s production will drastically change from here on out, but it’s just so hard to begin thinking about that when it’s been so long without the announcement that v10 is even happening. i’m just trying to prep myself for the worst case scenario.

#i am no expert on the animation industry so don’t bully me if i made incorrect assumptions #this is just my own take on where things stand #rwby #asks

[sunglassesmish]

everyday i wake up and there’s no news about gk i’m both scared and glad. because on one hand it’s not been cancelled but then on the other hand it hasn’t been renewed either so we’re just in limbo

#gotham knights #the cw fall schedule is released tomorrow so……

[luulapants]

Alright, I didn't want to dogpile and write an essay on someone else's post, but I saw this tweet posted, and I have some things to say.

People no longer differentiate between art and entertainment, and people no longer know how to be entertained by art. Yes, there are some things that are just goofy and mindless and fun. There are also instances where you can clearly see that a creator was trying to make art, to say something important to them, and people will sit around and complain that it's not good entertainment, as if that's the only thing creators should make.

Professors complained about "edutainment" when I was in college, and I remember rolling my eyes and thinking to myself, "Ok, you're boring, and somehow that's my fault." Maybe it wasn't my fault. Maybe it was the fault of our higher education system, for being such an expensive commodity that one could reasonably expect to be entertained by it. Maybe it was the fault of our media, which started blending news reporting with the same sort of scripted comedy and drama I expected to see in reality TV shows. I don't think I can pin down specific fault, but I can identify that, for some reason, I thought someone who was trying to educate me should have been entertaining me instead.

The American House of Representatives had to create what was essentially an edutainment TV series just to get people to tune in to learn about the most serious coup attempt against our government - instigated by a reality TV star we elected to our highest office - because they rightfully assumed that no one would watch otherwise. No one would care.

Reporter Megan Garber, in her article "We're Already in the Metaverse," points out that the language we use to describe reality is now infected with narrative concepts: "in my villain arc," "the final season of America," "main character syndrome," "canceled." We are currently wrapping up the third season of COVID and no one seems to understand why it hasn't been canceled yet. We are so saturated in the culture of entertainment that we expect reality to follow a narrative structure.

I get upset when my favorite characters have unsatisfying endings, I do. I get it. I get upset when a previously well-crafted story doesn't get the chance to give me the ending it deserved, either because it got canceled too early or renewed for too long.

But maybe in a day and age when every studio-production movie is pinned up and trimmed to a commercially-approved template of the hero's journey, when book publishers only consider what marketable booktok tropes a work has to offer, maybe the most subversive thing a person can make is a story that doesn't provide a tidy, familiar narrative. A story that is more like reality than fiction. Maybe the greatest rebellion available to today's artists is to stop making content, stop making entertainment, and create something the audience cannot passively consume but must actively choose to enjoy.

Make something unpopular.

Make art.

#fandom meta #social commentary #writing #content culture

[zumpietoo]

Racist Has a Breakdown...

Okay, yes, lets!

Disclaimer: at least you admit it, but you don’t really, because you still continue to endlessly push your fully disproven, failed narrative and are, nonetheless, endlessly pompous and pretentious about everythingggg.....Also, this is you having a fullbore nervous breakdown...

Okay, so let’s see how far off you are:

-Plaiderdale is paid for by Netflix. Additionally, it still has merchandising, created an albeit brief, significant brand identity for the show....

-They were a show that went seven seasons (and even then are getting a full or almost full final season), which is a success by ANY metric. There is NO SYNDICATION....cuz A) again, Netflix and B) Syndication is becoming a thing of the past.....it cracks me up that you fail to grasp how different TeeVee is now....if it even IS TeeVee as we know it anymoar....

The contracts were all ending (actually another reason it was likely cancelled), plus now you’re effectively saying it it IS profitable?

Dude, go look at what the “CW” is becoming, hmmm? Everything’s being cancelled some of the new shows that performed well aren’t gonna be renewed, either....god, your willfull ignorance and stupidity is appalling.

PLUS.......WTF does this have to do with Jabi kissing in the promo? And your consequent butthurt over that?

-Errmmm.....nope, that’s again, you grasping at straws....and, actually, yes, they HAVE reflected the show. Do they troll sometimes? Sure, but, fact is, yes, there WILL be a Jabi TLK kiss happening, with both of them looking at each other adoringly....

WTF is her obsession with the photo shoot? NO show does a “photo shoot” for its final season.....plus how exactly is THAT gonna boost ratings, again?

Actually, they do and it’s really simple to have a low level staffer pick out 3 clips, based on the imagery/recognition they’re seeking, you fucking dumbass.

PLUS this was the Spring NETWORK promo, so yeah, they’d be clear on what they want, etc.....and what happened to the NETWORK clamping down HARDDDD cuz they want ratings (when it doesn’t matter anymoar)?

Also, even if this were true, that would be like an ad agency failing to understand the product they’re pitching to a client....and they’d need to do so and the client would need to approve it. I love how she thinks some boiler room full of monkees just throws up the first 3 images for each show and the CW, who will be airing it, just let it rip....

Wait, I thought she said “everybody haaatttessss Jabi”???? How could they thusly pique anybody’s interest? Similarly, how does Douchie gremlining on a bike/Pussy driving out of Pop’s parking lot (slowly and responsibly) get the world hot and bothered?

Ever think it’s moar of setting the mood, with Jabi, interestingly, framed as THE couple????

Yes, it does look “dreamlike” and is entirely possible.....THAT would go to MY theory, noooo?? Oh orrr it’s 50s Jug dreeming of Tabi and pining for her...hmmmm...again, all not good for Jizzy....

Erinn has, but yeah, keep on with that stupid....

Oh good lord, “manipulation” from somebody desperately seeking to gaslight others....

Ummm.....again, please tell me what’s been in the promos that hasn’t come to pass?

Also, now she’s Bagelswannering....I remember how they ALL insisted a clip of CS inserted with all canon couples (that, admittedly, wasn’t entirely romantic at the time, but the heavy foreshadowing of where that slooooowwwwwww burrrnnn would be heading) for a V-Day promo to the song Timeless, had them all scoffing endlessly about how stupid we were....

Annnddddd.....we all know, etc....

Oh yes, she sure proved her endless, pointless desperate restating of her disproven manipulations with the Seth gif, huh???

Duuuuddee....you are unquestionably in for “JT part two”. And endgame!!!

1. When it will be even shittier for you?

2. I sent you a trolling anon. You did not answer. Mah heart is broken. And you are a liar.

Well, at least her ridiculous lies talked down Izzy.....meanwhile, “declare victory”????

A) Duuuddeee.....it’s a fucking TeeVee show

B) But what would I do if I didn’t have your batshit whining?

C) Nope

Umm....y’all insisted the Jizzy kiss was you guys winning, and clung to it endlessly, despite Cole interviewing, “nope” for the rest of the season, dude....

Plus, the VD kiss? Trolling the BAV triangle to come....

But funny how you’re using instances of you not getting your way to “prove” your point, huh?

Once again, doesn’t change Jabi presented as this TL couple......if anything, again, then you’re saying you’re fine with Jizzy where Jug’s memory wiped/it’s an AU and neither really loves the other? How awesome for you. I thought, again, that doesn’t count?

Oh yeah, Snorty.....Jug then explained he was simply a fucking mess and not yet ready, made a pass at her five seconds later, admitted he had deep feelings after all five seconds after that ANNNDDD.....once he’d cleaned up, promptly informed her she was his, it wasn’t open for debate, made sweet love and they’ve been together and in love ever since......

Yeah, that sure turned out horribly for us Jabi shippers, huh???

Oh and how did Tabs cucking Jug with the ASL teacher work for you??? Oh, right, fanfic, cuz you’re a fucking idiot...

[buttdawg]

I’ve watched a few of Marky123′s videos on YouTube, since they’re usually pretty decent rundowns of bad storylines and runs in wrestling.  So I checked this one out because I was never entirely clear on what happened to Austin Aries, a wrestler I routinely confuse with Bobby Roode.  Long story short, this video filled me in, but I lost some respect for Marky123 along the way, because he kept bending over backwards trying to be “fair” to Aries.

Basically, Aries torpedoed his career with the following missteps.

1) During a 2013 Impact show, ring announcer Christy Hemme flubbed his name, so he berated her in the ring, then backed her into one of the corners and stood on the second rope, effectively putting his crotch in her face. 

2) At Bound For Glory 2018, Aries lost the Impact World title to Johnny Impact. After the bell, he immediately stood up and left the ring, no-selling Johnny’s finishing move even as Johnny was being handed the title belt.

3) During the height of the pandemic, Aries was so hostile towards face masks that he refused to sign autographs for fans who wore them. 

4) Also, he was one of a number of wrestlers accused of sexual misconduct during the #SpeakingOut movement in 2020.  I’m not sure if that should be considered a career misstep or just his personal dirtbag behavior being brought to light. 

Marky’s main defense of Aries is that the Hemme incident hasn’t aged well, but it wasn’t seen as that big a deal in 2013, and he was a heel at the time, so he had to do something mean in response to the botched intro.  The no-sell thing might have been a worked shoot that never panned out, which is flimsy at best.  As for the Speaking Out allegations, Marky isn’t convinced because of a lack of evidence.  I find this absurd, because there’s recorded footage of the Hemme and BFG incidents, but he downplays both.  Like all of the naysayers during the #SpeakingOut movement, Marky123 talks about “evidence” but he would just dispute it if he had it. 

The Bound For Glory thing being a worked shoot is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.  It’s the sort of theory fans come up with because they saw something really stupid happen and they desperately want to find some sort of explanation to make it make sense.  From what I gather, Aries’ contract was going to expire the day after the show, which was why he was dropping the title to Johnny Impact in the first place.  If it was all a work, then the idea would be for him to make fans think he was being unprofessional on his way out of the company, only for Impact to re-sign him so he could return for another title program.  In this version of events, Aries is actually okay, guys!  He’s just pretending to be an unprofessional dick!  

The problem is that Impact didn’t renew his deal, so he didn’t come back, which leaves only three possible interpretations:

1) The no-sell was a shoot all along, and Aries really is an unprofessional dick, and Impact was happy to be rid of him.

2) The no-sell was a work, and Aries decided not to re-sign, thereby ruining his reputation.

3) The no-sell was a work, and Impact decided not to follow through on it, making Aries an idiot for letting Impact talk him into ruining his reputation for nothing.

There’s no way Aries comes off as a cool dude in this situation.  He’s either an unrepentant asshole or a clueless dope, but Marky123 doesn’t seem to be able to connect those dots. 

Overall, Marky’s thesis here is: Sure, Aries was kind of a dick, but does he deserve to get canceled over it?  And that misses the whole point: Aries didn’t get “””””canceled”““““.   He alienated fans and promoters alike over the course of several years, to the point where no one wants to do business with him.  It isn’t a question of whether or not he “deserves” it.  His current status in professional wrestling isn’t a punishment meted out by the court of public opinion; it’s just the result of his behavior. 

Marky makes it out like maybe “we” should “forgive” Aries, or at least consider it, but who’s “we”?  I never gave a shit about the guy in the first place.  Then he started getting heat for his anti-mask horseshit, and that’s how I found out what a shithead he was.  I must have missed the sexual misconduct allegations, but I’m pretty sure he’d already burned most of his bridges by then anyway.  The rest of it all deals with him being unprofessional, and that’s a business question, not a forgiveness issue.  If promoters and wrestlers don’t want to work with the guy, that’s just them protecting themselves.  Every time I’ve watched the BFG footage, it amazes me that he pulled a stunt like that.   It’s the sort of thing a wrestler would only do if they plan to quit the business for good and get a cushy job in some other line of work.

And even if indy promoters are willing to work with Aries, it’s still up to the fans to decide if he’s worth showing up for.  If he’s still refusing to meet with fans over his anti-mask policy, then he’s just leaving money on the table.  If he’s that contemptuous of the fans, then eventually the fans won’t bother with him at all.  I’m pretty sure that already happened, but if he’s not careful, it soon will.  It’s not about forgiveness, it’s about supply and demand.  Aries has been killing demand for his brand for a while now, and lo and behold, he’s not a draw.

Like, am I supposed to pay to see him because I feel sorry for him?  That’s like saying we should all buy VCRs because the videotape format didn’t deserve to become obsolete.  No, Aries didn’t get buried, he dug his own grave.  Let the fucker lie in it.

#austin aries #it speaks volumes that the bfg no sell incident happened over 4 years ago #and this seems to be the last notable thing he did in the wrestling business #apparently he was in control your narrative #a promotion which i'm still not sure actually exists #like what happened to that thing? #they were going to do a show and then i never saw any reports on it

[putonmyfavoriteshow]

So much of my The Villains of Valley View and Hartmy (Hartley/Amy) content in particular has been getting a lot of likes and reblogs (gifs, fics, etc).

And it’s sooooo bittersweet because it shows people are still watching the show and are interested in the ship which has the possibility of becoming a canon main wlw in a Disney Channel live action series, but I have heard 0 word of renewal of this show since its last episode (A Christmas special) aired in December.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t heard any cancellation news either but I follow the leads and they seem to be keeping busy with other projects or their personal lives and I’m sure are waiting to hear.

My fear is that since Disney greenlit the Wizards reboot, the likelihood of Villains renewal is low. As much as I love that original series and I’m not necessarily a reboot hater (I have my concerns, but I will hold judgement until I see it) but I imagine they could potentially nix Villains knowing Wizards is a similar story, which would be beyond disappointing considering s2 of VOVV ended on a cliffhanger and Hartmy hasn’t necessarily been debunked in canon 🙃

Anyway, I hope everyone still tunes into this show and gives it some numbers (It’s on Disney+ !!) on the rare chance Disney gives it one more season to tie things up! It’s also just a great show! One of my all time favorite Disney Channel original series which says a lot (I’ve been here a long time).

#hartmy #vovv #the villains of valley view #disney channel #so glad this fandom is alive and well #I’ll keep my fingers crossed #but sadly I’ve seen this film before 💀

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x12 Review

Second Chances was a lacklustre finale for an uneven season. Let’s dig in!

Earlier this week I re-watched S1 in preparation for the S2 finale and the contrast between the two seasons is jarring. In almost every way S2 has been worse and after seeing this finale I’m less optimistic that Tim will be able to fix the long list of things that have gone wrong. Tim has said in some of his interviews today that pretty much all of S2 was written before the pandemic and that they didn’t have to do as much re-writing as people might think due to the stringent safety measures Disney put in place. Of course, that removes an excuse for the bad writing we’ve seen so much of this season as according to Tim what we saw of S2 is largely what he envisioned minus big crowds and background dancers.

 Across his many interviews today, the one consistent point is that Tim does not have any real plans for future seasons; things like Ricky’s endgame he hasn’t decided on and he can’t even guarantee the summer season the finale sets up due to the weather in Salt Lake. I do think a S3 is an almost certainty given the show’s popularity but I’ll take Tim at his word that he truly doesn’t know if they’ll be renewed since it seems to be a new Disney tradition to wait until seasons are done airing before making a renewal decision (the same thing happened for the popular and well received Mighty Ducks: Game Changers which got a silent renewal only after all of S1 aired). That being said as poor of a season finale as Second Chances is it is also a terrible potential series finale. In large part it goes back to his lack of planning, he wants to keep all options open but in doing so Tim is crippling the show’s ability to deliver any pay offs or tie up loose ends.  

The one mostly well done plot line this season was Portwell which got a happy ending tonight as they canoned. The only good thing about the big brother angst was that it was so insane that it had to be addressed and sure enough it was and Gina got her first kiss with a guy she really liked. If Tim is to be believed the reason we didn’t get an on screen Portwell kiss was not because of their age difference or covid concerns but because he felt that everyone’s first kiss was different so he wanted it off screen so viewers could fill in the blanks themselves. Tim’s line of reasoning is profoundly stupid. Imagine if they had Jamie show up and he and Gina talked off screen and Tim tried to claim that because everyone has a different relationship with their own siblings that he wanted the audience to fill in the blanks as to how their conversation went!

Still we saw great character development on Gina and EJ’s part as both really grew from the people they were in S1. As Tim noted, EJ bringing Gina back in 1x10 was kind of the set up for this story line. The only thing missing was a brief Portwell scene sometime in eps 2x01-2x04 to set them up. The consistent development they got from 2x05-2x12 is unlike any other ship on the show; only Rini exceeds their development. 

Unfortunately I don’t think that will last in S3 because Tim will always favour Ricky over EJ and if he wants to do Rina he’ll dispose of Portwell before doing so. I was surprised that they never bothered to have Ricky and Gina have a conversation about Gina’s S1 confession. It was a huge mistake to have Gina pine over Ricky for half the season and it was no surprise that Gina’s story line got instantly better once she stopped interacting with Ricky. Tim has made clear in interviews that he’s still interested in the possibility of Rina which makes his poor writing of them even more bizarre. What conclusions are the audience supposed to draw from the Rina story line this season? That Ricky never cared that much about Gina? That it’s totally fine for the show if they don’t interact for 6 eps in a row? That Gina has moved on? I’ve said before that a wiser man than Tim would recognize that doing both Portwell and Rina will do tremendous damage to the show and he should pick one and not do the other. Of course he’s not that smart but it is wild how he’s accidentally written their story line to make for a perfect end to Rina. 

Second Chances was great and is the only part of the finale that would have been well suited to being part of a potential series finale. 

The Rini closure was a sad inverse of their S1 opening night confession. They’ve fallen so far from being the it couple of the series and I fear Tim doesn’t actually know what to do with them now. He really needs to decide if he’s tearing down that treehouse for real. 

The less said about the Valentine’s chocolates the better but at least Gina and Nini are cool again and Nini can explore her budding music career with Jamie’s help. Tim repeatedly said in interviews that the scripts about Nini’s music career were all written before Driver’s License came out and I think he understands that the audience is just going to see the show as copying from Olivia’s life. 

The wildcats just deciding to drop out of the Menkies was a lame cop out. Tim has said he always meant for that to happen though they were originally going to compete at the Menkies then drop out (presumably that’s where we would have heard Lily singing Home). Somebody should have mentioned the $50 000 prize money which the East High theatre department could surely use after Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara burned it down (remember that story line that had no consequences?). And that NYU scholarship could have been life changing for one of them and yet no one even brought  it up once this season. 

I did like the twist that it was EJ and his dad who got Mazzara into Caltech. He’d be a fool not to take it but I’m glad he confessed to Miss Jenn. She’s had a really rough season and I hope she redeems herself in S3.

Howie was acting so weird tonight and last ep that I have a hard time believing he was really so awed by Kourtney’s talent rather than feeling guilty for helping to steal the harness. The harness is another useless plot device; there are no consequences for Lily stealing it, she’s not caught, East High pulls off another version of the transformation off screen, and then East High withdraws from the Menkies anyways. Doubtless the harness will eventually come up to serve Rily angst. 

At least Lily was straightforward, I’ll give her that. She has such an odd way of speaking, almost child like. As awful as it is there is potential for a forbidden/secret romance story line with Rily. It really does not speak well to Ricky’s character that he’s so easily fallen for Lily’s act when he has no reason to trust her and she never apologized for making fun of Big Red during the auditions or making Ashlyn feel insecure during the dance off. 

The one way in which S2 was drastically better to S1 was in regards to the Seblos story line. Clearly Joe being bumped up to regular made a big difference. We got the first same-sex kiss between two boys and the first love song sung by one boy to another in Disney history and that is a legacy to be proud of. Of course, there was still some Disney censorship such as Carlos and Seblos being unable to use the word gay in the same ep that focused on Carlos singing In a Heartbeat to Seb. 

S1 of HSMTMTS had a clear direction, the wildcats would have to try and come together to stage High School Musical and Ricky and Nini would have to decide if they still had a future together while Gina and EJ had to work on being better versions of themselves. It was simple sure but it worked very well. There was a lot of heart but also a lot of humor and the show never took itself too seriously. What has S2 had? Beauty and the Beast was hardly the main focus of the cast or the writers and the central couple that S1 was built around is now broken up either for a long time or for good. There was a lot less of the meta moments that jokes that made S1 such a hit, for far too many eps this season the show took itself way too seriously. Hell even the lighting this season was darker than in S1. 

Olivia Rodrigo’s team had complained in a recent article that Olivia wouldn’t be able to potentially tour until fall 2022 due to her contractual commitments which is a sign that they think a S3 is very likely though I wonder how late S3 filming would have to start to keep her occupied until late 2022. There’s no confirmation of this but I thought it might be worth keeping an eye on; a post on r/hsmtmts by someone who claims to have a source working on production says that the plan is for S3 to be a summer theatre camp possibly with Camp Rock renditions and the plan for S4 is to jump 6 months ahead to the final semester of senior year and end with Ricky, Nini, Big Red, and Kourtney graduating from East High. They also say that part of the delay in the S3 announcement is a conflict between Tim and Disney executives. Tim wants to move production to LA and film on sets as it’s easier and cheaper while the Disney execs still want some on location shooting in Salt Lake. Again this is all unconfirmed but if it pans out it will represent a major shift in the series. 

Regardless if Tim wants the show to remain successful he needs start planning out what he wants to happen. He should not assume he’s getting more than 4 seasons. If the series gets a S3 but then is suddenly cancelled then how would he want all the main story lines to wrap up? And if they make it to S4 where does he see it ending? The graduation of the current juniors is a logical series ending point but if Tim wants to do something different he needs to start thinking of that now. I can’t say I’m excited anymore for S3 but I do really hope that Tim and his writers can turn things around and that will only happen if they recognize what they did wrong and learn from their mistakes. 

Until next season Wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Portwell #Rini #Gina Porter #EJ Caswell #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Kourtney Greene #lily #HSMTMTS Reviews

[danepopfrippery]

In case anyone cant open it this is the article on getting the show renewed: March 28, 2022 Angel Wilson 5 Things You Can Do to Help ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Get Season 2

📷 Our Flag Means Death has been the surprisingly delightful queer pirate rom-com that’s suddenly become our new hyperfixation. But there’s no confirmation that they will get a season 2. So what can we do about that?

In an era where a season 2 has become an increasingly common pre-finale announcement, fans of Our Flag Means Death have grown concerned that we might not get more of this wonderful show. So far there’s been no confirmation of it. There hasn’t been a single peep from the network or creators about it even being in the works, though I would not be surprised if some writing and plotting has happened already just in case. But either way, right now we have nothing.Many fans have already begun to work towards getting the show renewed in the ways they know how. A lot of us have been through this before. Repeatedly. Especially for queer-focused content. But if you’re struggling to come up with something, I have a few suggestions. Things that basically anyone on any budget and almost any means can do to make a difference.

1) Watch the first season of Our Flag Means Death legally and repeatedly.The irony of requesting that people don’t pirate a pirate show is not lost on me. Unfortunately, this is the best way to encourage renewal, though, so I must kindly request in my most sincere Stede voice to please purchase this show legally. Ed would be absolutely appalled, but here I go.HBO Max has a bit of a hefty price tag – $14.99 a month – but it doesn’t lock you in for a long-term commitment like some others tend to do. You can pay for a single month and watch the show as much as you like in that particular month. The show has fairly short episodes, and I’ve been able to do full rewatches in a single day. Once you’re done with the month, you can just cancel it. If you’re a first-time user, you may even get a free trial and pay nothing at all.Some regional equivalents of HBO Max haven’t yet picked up the series. If you live in a locale where this is the case, look up the contact information for that platform and reach out to them to request it as soon as possible. I don’t know every single regional equivalent, so this is going to require some research on your part. Whatever network or streaming platform showed Game of Thrones is probably a safe bet.If you are completely unable to watch it legally and resort to piracy on the high seas of the Internet (Edward Teach approves of this message), it is absolutely essential that you do some of the following options. If you don’t pay for it, don’t register as an actual viewer in the places HBO checks, and don’t say a word about the show anywhere, the people who make these decisions have no idea you exist.2) Tweet at HBO asking about a season 2.Show creator David Jenkins has specifically said we should “take it up with HBO Max.”  I take that as a sign that the network is actually listening for fandom feedback.

Here are a few accounts that you can politely tweet at to make this request.@HBOMax: This is the main account for the streaming service and the one Jenkins officially tagged when he encouraged tweeting. It’s a highly trafficked account, though, so it may be worthwhile going after some smaller, lesser trafficked official accounts as well. @HBOMaxHelp: The primary purpose of this account seems to be to assist people who are having technical issues, but it has been responding positively to these requests, and says they are passing along the information to relevant parties. This seems like a good account to tweet at if you want your message to go somewhere. @HBOPR: It’s the PR department’s job to have their finger on the pulse of fans. They often essentially act as an intermediary between us and the corporate people, so it’s not a bad account to include here. @CaseyBloys: Casey Bloys is the chief content officer for HBO Max. If you choose to tweet at him, be polite! This is a professional dude doing professional things, so let’s not spam him with memes. Additionally, keep the #OurFlagMeansDeath hashtag going. The creators, at least, are

looking at the tag sometimes. Maybe the large amount of content within it will make some waves at the network. Surely if we’ve been making thousands of tweets a day about the show as a fandom, they’ll take note, even if just a little bit.

3) Create fan content.📷If you are as inspired as I am about the show, dig into that creative side of yourself and get the content flowing. I’ve already written some fanfic for it. The fanart, meta-analysis, and fanvids are also spreading far and wide. Everywhere I turn there’s delightful pirate content to enjoy. I couldn’t be happier.This type of fan promotion does way more than you might think. I would not have known about the show had I not seen fanart for it cross my Twitter timeline. Likewise, I know at least four friends who I have accidentally convinced (and one whom I quite forcefully convinced by DMing them content) to watch the show just by sharing this type of content.Never, ever underestimate the power of fanworks to persuade an audience. It might seem silly to a lot of people, but for those of us in the culture, it’s probably our main way of finding new shows and movies to watch. At least that’s the case for me. I care way more about what my friends say than, say, Variety or Deadline. And if they’re devoting time to create free content to share online, I know it must be good.The word-of-mouth promotion for this show has been exploding over the past weeks as a result of your work, so keep going. I promise you I’ll get back to my own fanfic as soon as I’ve completed this article.

4) Tell your friends about the show.Besides just sharing fan content to try to create buzz, get back down to the basics and just start telling people about the show. Tailor your message to the audience you’re addressing and be enthusiastic.For example, if you’re talking to Taika Waititi fans, talk about him. You can go on about how amazing he is in this show. He not only stars in it but is an Executive Producer. Fans of his will love this show. It definitely has his vibe all over it.Or maybe you’re talking to people who love quality LGBTQ+ content. That one is a good one to pull people in with, since it’s so crucial to the story and incredibly well done. This is the queer content we’ve been looking for. Don’t let your queer friends dismiss it as queerbait, because it absolutely isn’t. It’s just queer. There’s no baiting to be found.Or maybe you have a friend who’s just really into pirates and a good ‘arrr matey have I got the show for ye’ will do the trick. Don’t let your pirate pals down by keeping this show to yourself. There’s plenty of booty for everyone.Maybe even hold a watch party online with your internet friends. I’ve done plenty of these, and have pulled in both existing fans and new viewers to shows I love. I usually make a graphic, schedule a time that works for my friends, plan a hashtag, and then just go for it. If you need help with that, find me on Twitter. I might be interested in collaborating on this one.Whatever the case is, start pulling people into it. There’s a lot here to love.

5) Write actual letters requesting season 2.Hi there! I’m a Fandom Old Person and I know a thing or two about offline fan campaigns. I sent bottles of tabasco sauce to the WB when I wanted more of the original Roswell series. I pitched in to send the writers of Supernatural gift baskets and letters on an almost annual basis for several years. And who can forget the Star Trek letter-writing campaign? I wasn’t alive then, but as is so often the case, I owe much of my own fandom experience to those wonderful trailblazers. This method is older than the Internet itself, and it still helps.Networks tend to also be run by fellow Old Persons who may not be hip with the Twitter. As such this old school option shouldn’t be dismissed. It’s easy to sit back and send a tweet, but snail mail will reach people you may not have reached online. And, equally as important, it shows you are willing to step away from the keyboard and put in a little extra effort.So where do you send things? And how?HBO’s corporate office address is as follows:

30 Hudson Yards New York, NY 10001 USAYou can address it to individuals, though those will likely be screened by some sort of secretary or assistant. As mentioned, Casey Bloys is the President of Programming for the network. VPs for Programming include Amy Gravitt, Francesca Orsi, and Nina Rosenstein. The VP for Original Programming (and Our Flag Means Death fits in that category) is Amy Hodge.If you want to be more general with who you address this to, the Programming Department, which is where all of the above-mentioned people work, is a good place to send them. The PR department may like to hear from you too. Though they aren’t the ones who would make this type of decision, it’s their job to know what people are loving about the network and act accordingly. It’s not a complete waste of time at all, even if the decision isn’t in their hands.If all else fails, you can just send it to “HBO.” Their mailroom staff will probably read it and forward it to the appropriate place.If you don’t want to go through the boring task of writing an actual letter asking for a season 2 and sending it through the mail, there are automated systems that do this online for a small fee. Check out the following:Postable Postcard on the Run Touchnote Postsnap This method of fandom activism can sometimes lead to actual interaction with the recipients. Back in my old Supernatural days, we would send hundreds of postcards at a time. The recipients would sometimes tweet pictures of the stacks of them that they got on any given day. Our voices were definitely heard and we made an impression.If you are creating a custom postcard and choose to use fanart, always be sure to ask artists before using their work. Some may not want to be part of this at all. Others may be incredibly enthusiastic. In fact, if you are a fanartist and this idea thrills you, consider floating this idea to your followers! Or, if you have the time and inspiration, make a few specific pieces of art geared towards this purpose.Likewise, using screenshots or promo images from the show could run into some copyright issues, but you can definitely give it a go and see if it’s allowed on those sites. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t.And most importantly, remember your tone: Be polite. Be concise. Let them know how much this show means to you and how much you want a second season. Say “please” and “thank you.”

Now let’s get to work on getting a season 2.It’s frustrating not knowing if Our Flag Means Death will get a season 2 or not. We all see what an absolute gem this show is, and it’s surprising that the network execs didn’t immediately greenlight because, hello, can you not see how amazing this is? But that’s just how these things work, unfortunately.But by using the above tools, you’ll be sending a strong message to the very people that make those decisions. The more people that do this, the more likely it is that the important decision-makers will notice us. So get cracking, folks. Send those letters. Tweet those tweets. Write that fanfic. And, above all, watch that show (legally) over and over again.You have your marching orders, crew. Now get cracking.

#our flag means death #ofmd

[alexzalben]

Alex do you know what’s hbo maxs thing on cancellations? Like do they cancel stuff super often(like Netflix canceling all their popular shows or the CW renewing almost everything as of recently) I’m asking because Netflix has given me trust issues for streaming services and I’m super scared to get attached to shows like our flag means death. Because it hasn’t been renewed

I'm surprised it hasn't been renewed yet, but I'm guessing (this is pure speculation) a lot of mid-tier shows are being put on hold in terms of renewal or cancellation because of the Warner Bros-Discovery merger. I'd throw Raised by Wolves in there too; pre-merger, both of them would have been picked up. Right now, I wouldn't consider either canceled, just probably under evaluation like everything else.

#our flag means death

[random-french-girl]

rfg i’m not gonna lie, i’m a little nervous that fort salem hasn’t been renewed for season 3 yet :( i need more of these funky gay witches in my life

Hello Anon,

I wouldn't be too nervous - if I remember correctly, they also announced the season 2 renewal pretty late, like a day or two before the season 1 finale aired. I haven't really paid attention to any news for a potential season 3, or checked the ratings and numbers etc., but just from my little observation spot on Tumblr - picture me sitting in a metaphorical rocking chair, on a metaphorical porch, smoking a pipe and looking at fandom shenanigans in the distance - it seems like there was a decent amount of engagement during season 2? Which makes me fairly hopeful.

Anyway, obviously I know nothing, so I can't reassure you very firmly. No show is safe from an abrupt cancellation, and that's even truer in pandemic times I'd imagine. But I'm not worried just yet, and I don't think you should be either! Let's try to enjoy our funky gay witches for the season 2 finale, and hope for the best.

<3

#motherland fort salem #anonymous

[incarnateirony]

Why do you think walker got renewed already? It certainly hasn’t gotten good reviews or viewership to warrant it. Is it just because of j*red?

Nope, I been blogging about this for a while--they literally don’t have a choice. They had to renew literally everything not already cancelled and even some things that were padding around the idea of it being their last season. They’ve renewed things that haven’t even aired yet. 

Technically Walker’s ratings are good for CW, the same way SPN’s were. Given, I’m pretty sure they were banking on better with their amount of advertising, which is why I kept saying “It’s gonna air at a 0.4 or under probably, if it breaks 0.45 I’ll eat my foot” and the premiere hit 0.37 and began its new-show freefall after that. In comparison, SPN--a 15 year old show that actually had started sagging finally, relatively unadvertised and certainly not cross-promoted on major networks or with refurbed gas stations, started S15 at 0.36. And they’re not gonna be able to pay for maintaining Walker’s advertising forever, even if they’re holding it out longer than usual too. They REALLY want this to become their new big thing. 

So regardless, this WAS going to happen and it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get a CBS show cancelled--getting it cancelled was never the point, there’s a bigger vision going on here that I think people will start catching on to over time. Make enough noise about all of their products. Some people have been tapping their advertisers on the shoulder. Make sure ratings sag and their streaming with it. Guess what that causes?

Either way--everything, literally everything, even things running a 0.15, got renewed preliminarily because Pedowitz has no option after covid. An article mentioned it and Superwiki got super pissed as a Jared stan, even though Pedowitz admitted this like a month ago.

For Walker to have been cancelled in S1 Jared would have needed to like murder someone on set or something.

[sunglassesmish]

oh. nevermind. i was under the impression Gotham Knights had been cancelled because i'd seen a campaign to "save" it. but i guess i was just confused. good that it hasn't been cancelled! (but it hasn't definitely been renewed yet either? the imdb page made it look like it had. but maybe i misinterpreted.)

nope, hasn’t been cancelled or renewed (still have 3 episodes left of season 1 to air, one in about 11 hours) i haven’t seen a save gotham knights campaign, only one to renew it.

#anon #ask

[its-only-v]

Stock market, fame & part-time catering gigs

Somehow, all three picks ended up being shows starring Ken Marino so I’m declaring this week to be a Ken Marino appreciation week which you can also celebrate by watching his work. Or, you could just watch them because he’s hilarious.

Black Monday (2019- )

I can’t tell you how much I love this show. This is one of my favorite shows of all time. It’s clever. It’s hilarious. And it’s unpredictable. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d say it’s irreverent. It’s about the 1987 stock market crash which was the largest one-day percentage drop in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average but it also isn’t because it’s all made up. I’d even say it’s crazier than The Wolf of Wall Street because it doesn’t have to stick to the facts. Honestly, I’d even skip the trailer and go in blind and watch the pilot, Let me tell you how it starts - it’s Black Monday, the streets of Wall Street clearly in crisis mode. The focus shifts to a bright red stretch Lamborghini which rolls to a stop. The driver gets out to polish the hood and wait around for his boss to come in. And then, someone drops down from the building onto the roof of the car, which crumbles under him. I know what it sounds like but I assure you, this is definitely a comedy. It’s possibly Don Cheadle’s best work and it deserves some attention because he absolutely deserves  more recognition than his most famous role as the second-choice US government’s soldier version of Iron Man. It also has Regina Hall, Andrew Rannels, Casey Wilson, and Ken Marino (who plays the twin Lehman Brothers - not related to the real Lehman Brothers who weren’t twins and were three in number) giving great performances. The show moves beyond Black Monday after Season 1 and they’ve still managed to keep it interesting. Season 3 aired earlier this year and it hasn’t been renewed or cancelled yet.

Watch the Trailer

Three seasons of Black Monday are streaming on Showtime.

The Other Two (2019- )

This isn’t your traditional sitcom. Sure, it’s set in New York City. Sure, they even have real hosts announcing the news. But it’s a comically exaggerated version that unabashedly parodies reality and modern culture. As a YouTube commentator called it, “it’s not satire, it’s advanced satire”. There are a lot of similarities to real-life people and events that aren’t coincidental. I don’t know how they managed to pull it off but it might be because it doesn’t take itself too seriously, signaling that you shouldn’t either. It’s about two millennial siblings who are struggling to ‘make it’ in New York City. Cary (Drew Tarver) is a struggling actor. His sister, Brooke (Heléne Yorke), used to be a professional dancer and is now… trying to figure things out. Things aren’t going well but they also aren’t bad. Until their little 13-year-old brother, Chase (Case Walker), becomes an overnight pop sensation, getting 22 million hits on a song called ‘Marry U at Recess’ and he’s immediately taken under the wing of a somewhat incompetent manager (Ken Marino). ChaseDreams is hailed as the “sexy new singer in town” and “the next big white kid” who starts getting invites to movie premiers, invitations from school dances of his millions of teen fans, and begins living in Justin Theroux’s ridiculous former apartment. I’d say one thing, it’s very memorable because it’s another show that goes where you didn’t think they could go.

Watch the Trailer

The two seasons of The Other Two are streaming on HBO Max with the show greenlit for another season.

Party Down (2009-2010 | 2022?)

I didn’t see this when it originally aired in 2009 (which is 12 years ago???) and when I finally did watch it recently, it was just me looking at the screen going - isn’t that ___ from ___ for practically the whole pilot and then again every other episode. Apart from the actors you see above*, the show also starred Megan Mullaly, Jennifer Coolidge, J. K. Simmons, Ken Jeong, and Kristen Bell. That still isn’t the full list. Even Kevin Hart and George Takei made appearances. You can just go in knowing it has the biggest names in comedy, it’s impossible to fuck up something when you have such a brilliant cast (well, almost impossible). But if you do need to know what it’s about, it’s about a bunch of struggling actors trying to make it in Hollywood while working at a catering company (spoiler alert - they’re not the best caterers). But they do get to go to the craziest parties. It’s not as crazy as the other shows but it’s a solid comedy and it’s getting a revival soon with almost all the original cast members returning so it’s a great time to catch up and then recommend this to others so they can watch it too.

*To spare you the whole where-have-I-seen-this-actor-let-me-check-IMDB process, I’m giving you a list for the main cast:

Martin Starr - who you may know as Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley

Ryan Hansen - who you may know as Dick from Veronica Mars

Lizzy Caplan - who you may know as Virginia from Masters of Sex

Adam Scott - who you may know as Ben from Parks & Recreation

Ken Marino - who doesn’t need an introduction at this point but you may have also seen him in Veronica Mars and Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Jane Lynch - who also doesn’t need an introduction, but you may have seen her as Sue in Glee

Watch the Trailer

The original Party Down is streaming on Starz.

Until next time,

V

#onthescreen archive #black monday #the other two #party down #ken marino #tv shows #television #show recommendations #onthescreen 2021 archive