'Timeless' fans: Your finale movie is coming

Gary Levin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Save Our Shows 2017: 'Timeless' stars make a case for renewal Malcolm Barrett and Abigail Spencer discuss their NBC time-travel drama, 'Timeless,' one of the series on the bubble.

A campaign by the loyal (and vocal) fan community behind NBC's time-travel series "Timeless" has paid off: The network has agreed to air a two-hour movie that will wrap up the series in December, with all seven regular cast members.

The turn of events follows two consecutive berths atop USA TODAY's Save Our Shows poll, which helped earn the series a second-season renewal in 2017. NBC declined to commit to a third season, and the actors' contracts expired on July 1. But support from the show's "Clockblocker" fans, including a helicopter flown over Comic-Con in San Diego this month, swayed the network, says executive producer Shawn Ryan.

"I know for a fact that the passion of the fans had an impact on NBC and (producing studio) Sony, without a doubt," he says in an exclusive interview. "All the helicopter signage stuff at Comic-Con was very much on their radar. Trending on Twitter, months after the cancellation, was super-impressive. It’s such a passionate fan base."

And "ultimately NBC, which has always been good to the show, heard the fans' voices and didn’t want to be the bad guys in this. They want the fans to get a proper ending and leave on a high note." Especially after Season 2's cliffhanger ending.

Ryan says the path to closure was rocky. "Obviously, we were disappointed when the show wasn’t picked up. And then there were simultaneous conversations happening with NBC about a two-hour movie, and with other places about could there be a Season 3 somewhere else. (Netflix, among others, passed). Ultimately, we never could secure something before the actors' contracts expired. It was kind of looking a little pessimistic about a movie," as it was difficult to find a path for both Sony and NBC to make a profit (they probably won't). "But in the last two to three weeks, it all came together," Ryan says.

"Everyone really thought the best of the show, and wanted the fans to have a good feeling on the way out. All the actors were more than willing to do it. Now we’re ready to go."

The plan is to start filming the finale in mid-October in Los Angeles. It is scheduled to air sometime around Christmas. "I know some fans might be like, 'Well, why not a Season 3?'" Ryan says. But "we’re doing a lot more than most shows in our situation," he says of the low-rated series. "I feel bad for a lot of fan bases in the future because I’m not sure people realize how unusual this is. (Netflix canceled "Sense8" after two seasons but later agreed to end the series with its own two-hour movie after a similar fan outcry.)

The series stars Abigail Spencer, Malcolm Barrett and Matt Lanter as a trio that travels in time to prevent a mysterious organization from changing the course of history. And with the latest reprieve, Ryan's goal is to "make the fans go, 'Wow,'" and "give it a proper ending. If it’s a 28-episode novel, we need to write the last two chapters and make the viewers feel really satisfied."

And maybe, just maybe, if enough new fans catch up on Hulu, he says, Sony can "re-examine" the series and try to sell it again. Just not to NBC.

Ryan also gave a shout-out to Save Our Shows. "We wouldn’t be talking today if not for USA TODAY and the Save Our Shows poll that’s really given a voice to our fans," he says. "It really started with that poll a little over a year ago that helped convinced NBC to give us a second season, and winning it again did make a mark and was certainly noticed by the powers that be. And it gave us some ammunition why it was so important for this particular fan base, to try to give them something that would result in a satisfying conclusion."

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