-Hello. My name's Zo,
I'm from Birmingham in the UK,
I'm a lesbian woman, and I'm an Earper.
-"Wynonna Earp." -"Wynonna Earp."
-"Wynonna Earp." -Changed everything.
-It's about damn time.
-You can absolutely tell
that it is made by queer people for queer people.
-It's kind of relatable. I know it sounds really weird,
saying that about a demon-hunting show.
-When you are in a room with Earpers, you're not alone.
-Any Earpers out there? !
-It's like being home.
-There's only three words that matter.
Fight for Wynonna.
-"Wynonna Earp" is a show that premiered in 2016 on SYFY TV.
It follows a ragtag bunch of misfits whose goal
is to send demons back to hell.
-And it's evolved to so much more than that.
I mean, it's really a show about, I think, family.
And found family I think is a theme
that I continuously bump up against when I'm talking about
and thinking about "Wynonna Earp"
and with the fandom.
-There's some very strong female characters,
which I definitely connect with.
It's very smart, and there's lots of kind of gayness
sprinkled in, which is always fun.
-You don't ask Cate Blanchett to be a background extra.
You make her Carol.
-In 2018, just after three seasons, "Wynonna Earp"
was financially on the rocks
and was not renewed for another season.
So, fans, especially queer fans, came to the rescue.
-It took a village, man.
It took a village for that one.
There were all fans
from everywhere putting up billboards.
-Fight for Wynonna!
-The Wynonna fandom has been so organized,
and they're so passionate in wanting to speak
for what they believe in and what the show stands for.
-So, besides not wanting to see a favorite show get canceled,
why were fans so dedicated to bringing back "Wynonna Earp"?
A big reason is the central couple,
Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp, or known as their ship name --
-Wayhaught. -Wayhaught.
God!
-Wayhaught means everything to me.
-I think it was probably my first real realization
that I could love women and still be accepted
and still have a normal relationship.
-I feel seen for the first time.
-There's finally someone on the screen
that I can identify with.
-It feels like these characters were written for me, somehow.
-Show-centering queer characters are still atypical.
When they are done well, they resonate with fans
and create devoted audiences, much like the Earpers.
-I think that's part of initially in the beginning
why the relationship really clicked with people,
because they saw themselves.
They saw themselves in the utmost respect.
It was never, like, thrown in there just to, like,
titillate an audience or anything like that.
It was always earned and well-paced,
and it felt real and grounded.
-Wynonna? -[sighs]
Chrissy Nedley, are you a sight for sore livers.
-How dare you? !
-"Wynonna Earp" was ultimately saved
and brought back to SYFY for a fourth season
after a large fan campaign.
So far, that decision is paying off.
Ratings for the Season 4 premiere increased 11%
from the Season 3 premiere, according to Nielsen.
And a SYFY representative told "Deadline"
that there were 1,200,000 views on all platforms combined.
This was accompanied by high fan engagement on social media,
while the actors themselves live-tweeted during the show.
Other shows featuring queer characters
and couples have received a similar outpouring of support
when they face early cancellations.
Some even garnered enough audience outrage
that they also got a second chance,
like "One Day at a Time" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine,"
which were both picked up by other networks.
Other queer shows got the compromise
of a TV-movie finale,
like "Looking" on HBO and "Sense8" on Netflix.
But even when a show is beloved,
sometimes it is just out of control of the fans.
Take "Vida," which was canceled after three seasons
despite calls for it to come back.
-Because Eddy's good people, and her wife just died.
That's why I came.
-Her what?
-Starz was our studio and network.
So, they would have to want to do it.
I don't own my show, you know?
And I wish it could work the way it did for "One Day at a Time."
That's the main reason why I was upset
that "Vida" was gone, 'cause it's like,
"Ugh, we don't keep telling these stories," you know?
-Hey, coming out is a whole process.
-Coming out?
-Right now, I'm very militant
about no stories about us without us.
You put the dominant culture at the helm of a BIPOC
or a queer POC story, that's just not authentic.
It's someone's version of you, you know?
So, like, let us create and produce the versions of us.
-Having people involved who genuinely, like, love
the fans but who are queer themselves
and can bring that authenticity to it,
and I think that's why, you know, "Wynonna"
and shows like that have connected so much with fans,
because it feels real.
It feels like, "Okay, I get the references.
This sounds like somebody that I would talk to wrote this."
-Halloween costume -- I'm going as She-Ra.
-Oh, my God, I would die.
-These queer references and authentic depictions
of sexuality
have assured fans that "Wynonna Earp" is in good hands.
-It was the perfect example of this fandom
and why they are so special,
because there is an overwhelming amount of respect, camaraderie,
togetherness in this fandom
that I think many of us have never seen before.
And I think they totally brought that to the fight
and just being loud and proud about how much we love the show
and how much we want to keep seeing and telling the story.