Reality show fans around the world are upset about the recent surprising news: Beloved Canadian reality show Big Brother Canada will be taking a “hiatus” for a year, and there is no guarantee that it will return to broadcast.

“Big Brother Canada is on hiatus for the coming broadcast year,” said a representative for Global TV, the channel that broadcasts the show. “Further details will be announced at a later date. Global remains the broadcaster for Big Brother.”

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No definitive reasons were given for the decision to go on hiatus.

Host Arisa Cox initially broke the news to a literal tweetstorm of replies and shock.

It's been FIVE BRILLIANT SEASONS and now it's official, @BigBrotherCA is on hiatus. MASSIVE LOVE to our BB fam from the bottom of my heart. pic.twitter.com/ruYUdxWH35 — Arisa Cox (@arisacox) June 5, 2017

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By all standards a success across the board, BBCAN (as it’s known on social media) had fans around the globe, and it was evident in the reactions on Twitter.

Even Season 2 winner Jon Pardy weighed in.

Wow….. no #BBCAN6 in 2018?!….. thanks for the memories y'all, what a ride…. #BBCAN2 — Jon Pardy (@Jon_Pardy) June 5, 2017

Fans were so upset, in fact, that they crafted a petition to keep the show on the air. Petition creator Rob Cesternino, a well-known reality show expert and podcaster, has the ultimate goal of saving Big Brother Canada and bringing it back to Global TV next year.

The petition reads:

Big Brother Canada has been put on hiatus according to reports, including this from a spokesperson from Global TV. After an exciting season like BBCAN5, we can’t let Big Brother Canada go down without a fight. Technically, Big Brother Canada has not been canceled, it’s just simply not returning to the air unless something drastically changes. This petition is a WAKE UP (CANADA) call that there are fans around the world who want to see more Big Brother Canada in the coming years. If you’ve enjoyed the work done by Erin Brock, Arisa Cox, Trevor Boris and the entire Big Brother Canada team at Insight Productions, show your support and sign this petition to help Big Brother come down off the block. The last shockwave is going to come from us, the fans, when we use our Secret Veto to #SaveBBCAN Tweet This

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Cesternino’s initiative had Twitter buzzing with the #SaveBBCAN hashtag. As of this writing, his petition needs fewer than 2,000 votes to hit its goal. At that time, Cesternino says he’s going to send the petition to Global TV.

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“I know the fans are upset and I thought it would be great for this dedicated audience to show how much they care about BBCAN with this petition,” said Cesternino to Global News. “For the fans to come together on a vote to change the outcome of the show… that would be the most Big Brother Canada thing ever.”

Fans are speculating that this “hiatus” is indicative of a future cancellation, or that BBCAN is searching for a new broadcast home. Neither social media rumour has any proof behind it.

The American version of Big Brother premieres on June 28 with a 2-hour episode on Global TV. It will be the series’ 19th season.

Requests for comment to production companies Insight Productions and EndemolShine North America were not answered by the the time of publication. This story will be updated once any comment is received.

Global TV and Global News are Corus properties.

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