Netflix CCO Talks About Possibility Of Reviving Cancelled Shows Like ‘Firefly,’ Jericho,’ ‘Twin Peaks’

Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos—who oversees the company’s transition into original programming with shows like House of Cards and Hemlock Grove, as well as the resurrection of previously cancelled shows like Arrested Development—recently chatted with Stuff and discussed his work and what other shows they may or may not consider reviving.

The discussion covered numerous topics from piracy and hopes for more Arrested Development after this new upcoming season to various older TV shows they might consider reviving, such as Firefly, Jericho, and Twin Peaks.

Continue reading to see what he had to say about reviving these shows.

As for Twin Peaks, Sarandos doesn’t say much when asked if Netflix would consider bringing it back, only an emphatic “Absolutely!”

Jericho is also a short answer, in which he says “It was on the bubble. I donâ€™t think a day goes by that I donâ€™t get an email or a personal hand-written letter about that show.”

Firefly is a little bit longer of an answer, though it’s not one fans will want to hear. Of bringing back the Joss Whedon cult classic, Sarandos says:

“Itâ€™s kind of been done, with Serenity, but yeah as a series. Let me give you one broad statement about these recovery shows. In almost every case the cult around the show gets more intense and smaller as time goes by. Arrested Development was the rarest of birds in that the audience of the show grew larger than the original broadcast audience because people came to discover it years after it was cancelled. The Firefly fan is still the Firefly fan from when it was on TV and thereâ€™s fewer of them and theyâ€™re more passionate every year. Whereas with Arrested Development weâ€™re going to be serving a multiple of the original audience. Any of the other shows we could bring back would be a fraction of the original audience.”

This statement is…surprising, to say the least. At least to me. I don’t have the research and numbers these guys have, but it feels like not only has the Firefly audience grown since the show’s cancellation, but it’s grown massive and only continues to grow as new people see it and realize its greatness.

If this is the reason we haven’t heard much about the possibility of Netflix saving the show, it’s a bit of a depressing let down, though I’m sure there’s more to it than just that. Sounds to me like if fans of Firefly are still in the fight, they need to make themselves more visible, and they need to go on a continuous binge of the show on Netflix streaming to show people still watch and watch often.

Aside from that, it appears the next best option would be if Fox decided to give it the same kind of limited revival they’ve just made official for 24, a show that had a nice long life before it was ended in 2010.