In August, A&E shocked viewers by cancelling their hit drama, Longmire. After the season 3 finale ended in an excruciating cliffhanger, the network announced the popular TV show was cancelled, and they would not be renewing it for a fourth season. So, why would A&E axe their most watched scripted series? Well, money talks. And, according to A&E, the millions of Longmire viewers that turned in every week were “too old” and it was a tough sell to advertisers. As CDL reported via GLOBE, the older demographic with which Longmire was very popular supposedly did not appeal to A&E’s advertisers who prefer a younger (more easily influenced?) viewing audience. Does this mean that great and popular shows are going to be cancelled because the audience is too old? Is this ageist? Is this fair?
The problem with canceling a television show as popular as Longmire, is A&E now has millions of disgruntled viewers on their hands who are campaigning hard for the crime drama and even threatening to boycott the network’s other shows all together. According to the October 20th edition of GLOBE Magazine, “A campaign has been started to find another cable company, like the USA Network or Netflix, to pick up the series. Currently, letter-writing campaigns and internet posts are pressuring cable companies to remove A&E network from their packages.” The magazine goes on to explain that there is also a group of die-hard fans on Facebook that refer to themselves as “The Longmire Posse,” with nearly 30,000 members the group works around the clock campaigning for a network to pick up the modern day western.
With the producers, cast, and major media outlets like GLOBE Magazine working non-stop to save Longmire, there is a good chance it could be picked up by another network. Just recently Netflix purchased the rights to the TV drama The Killing after it was dropped by AMC, so it isn’t unrealistic to assume they could do the same for Longmire.
Are you as devastated as we were when A&E cancelled Longmire? Do you think USA or Netflix will pick up the drama? Are you joining Longmire fans in their boycott of A&E? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
