Netflix invites real fans to make their pitch for saving the show

True fans aren’t the only ones who are sad that Anne with an E has been cancelled after three seasons.

Fake fans seem to be pretty bummed, too.

Yesterday, show creator Moira Walley-Beckett announced in an Instagram post that Season 3, which is currently streaming on CBC GEM and set to launch on Netflix on Jan. 3, will be the last.

Her post launched a passionate outpouring of emotion on social media, bolstered by a series of somewhat awkward hashtags, including: #renewawae, #renewannewithane, #SaveAnneWithAnE and #SaveAnneWithAnnE.

Dig a little deeper into what Anne might call that “perfect graveyard of buried hopes,” and it looks as though not all of the fan accounts behind those hashtags are linked to real people.

Many of the accounts were created this month, they don’t have profile pics, their usernames are generic names followed by strings of numbers and they don’t have any followers.

It’s possible that robotic accounts called bots are to blame.

Bots are often used to amplify real conversations that are happening online or to spread misinformation.

It’s difficult to know why bots might be at work here, but it does make you wonder how much of the hype around the cancellation is real.

Especially given that the cancellation was trending on Twitter yesterday.

Fake accounts aside, it seems at least some of the sorrow is coming from real fans with established accounts.

Anne with an E star Amybeth McNulty responded to the cancellation news in an Instagram post by speaking directly to her character.

“Dear Anne,” she wrote, “I don’t think I was ever going to be ready to say goodbye, but as the saying goes, everything must come to an end.”

In an email, CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson was pretty clear that the show cannot be saved.

”While we appreciate the outpouring of support from fans of the show,” he wrote, “Netflix and CBC agreed that Season 3 of Anne with an E would be the final season.”

Then again, Netflix hinted that all was not lost, directing fans to make their pitch to save the show by filling out a form on its website.

What does that mean?

Some are suggesting there might be a movie in the works, although Netflix didn’t respond when we asked the company to confirm that theory.

A movie might be a long shot, but in the words of Anne Shirley, “It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?”

With files from The Canadian Press