Lucifer has been struck by the cancellation ax, but star Tom Ellis still has hopes that the show will be saved. After the rescuing of Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine by NBC, it’s clear Ellis has hope that Lucifer will meet a similar network in shining armor. However, he admits that the show has always been fighting an uphill battle.
“From the beginning, it’s always felt like we were fighting against the odds, in a David versus Goliath context, but at the end of the day, we overcame those odds, so why not still hope and continue fighting for its survival?” Ellis told Forbes Sunday.
After three seasons, the actor mused, it is “such a strange time for the show to end”, as the things were just starting to heat up.
“It’s very rare that something comes along and fits like a glove – and that’s what we had. But I can tell you that I’m not done with this. Because, at the end of the day, I can at least say I tried,” Ellis said.
However, there seems to be a bright side to the show’s cancellation for the actor.
“The weirdest thing is the minute the news came out, I was starting to feel better about it because the support from fans has just been incredible. I’m blown away by it because it has been devastating,” Ellis continued.
The actor also spoke to TVLine in an article published today, detailing when Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson gave him the bad news.
“Honestly, I was a bit shocked. I went into some weird shock,” Ellis said. “I just wasn’t expecting it. It really pulled the rug. And then it really went through me, how much I cared about the show, and I was really, really sad. I couldn’t quite believe it.”
Ellis isn’t the only one pushing for Lucifer to rise again.
Ildy Modrovich, Lucifer executive producer and writer, said that while he knew Lucifer was considered a “bubble show,” the show was not prepared to be cancelled.
“Once we were notified that we were done, we were crossing our fingers, wondering if our fans were going to go nuts. All I can say is that we are blown away by the level of support,” Modrovich told Forbes.
Meanwhile, showrunner Henderson has shown regret for the show’s cliffhanger season – now series – finale.
In a chat with CinemaBlend Saturday he also apologized to viewers.
“We created a season finale with a huge cliffhanger so that there was no way Fox could cancel us. Instead, we’re going to frustrate the hell out of you fans. I’m so sorry for that. By the way, the Lucifer finale is the best hour of television I’ve been lucky to write. It wraps up everything from the season. But what it teases for Season 4 … Well, maybe, just maybe, we can #SaveLucifer and show you,” he said.
According to TVLine, Lucifer Season 3 averaged a 0.8 demographic rating and was 10th among all of Fox’s dramas (tied with Gotham, which has been renewed for its fifth and final season). It said Fox executives pointed to strong midseason ratings for 9-1-1 and The Resident and space needed for Thursday Night Football as providing reasons for Lucifer’s cancellation.
Deadline adds that Fox chairman Gary Newman said it was “a ratings-based decision; we had very a successful late year with all four new dramas renewed” and that the network “felt like performance-wise, we needed to make that change.”
The #SaveLucifer and #PickUpLucifer movement is ongoing on social media, with Ellis and other show cast and crew taking part.
The #SaveLucifer movement “has created a conversation,” Ellis told TVLine.
“I don’t want to promise anything for anybody because there are so many things that have to align for things to happen…,” he said. “But I didn’t have hope, and I do have hope now. And as long as there is hope, I will keep fighting because I think that’s what our fans want us to do.”
The Season 3 finale of Lucifer airs tonight on Fox.
“We are so proud of it; it’s a really cracking episode of Lucifer. If we are to leave it there, which I really, really don’t want to, [the finale] will at least honor the time you’ve put into the show thus far – and then really frustrate you!” Ellis said. “We were just getting going!”