It may not be one of Netflix’s most renown series but for many fans, it’s one of their best.

It was announced that Netflix would not be renewing The OA for another season on August 5 and as anticipated, the reaction was not a happy one (and rightfully so). The OA provides something truly unique to television and deserves a space alongside the other greats that are making a name for themselves.

Brit Marling takes centre-stage in this sci-fi series that explores spirituality, the supernatural and everything in between. Nothing like this has been done before and anyone searching for something unique will certainly find that with The OA. It’s not just the plot that’s unique either, as the structure of the story bends in ways that you’d never anticipate. If you’ve watched season 2, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about with the final episode.

Every time you think you’ve got an episode figured out, it takes you in a completely different direction. It’s thrillingly dark at times and takes you into a world you’re not sure you want to be a part of. There’s then the key character relationships which are pretty much all unconventional, but they work perfectly. Every single aspect of The OA has been mapped out perfectly and executed even more so.

Originality is hard to come by and it’s frustrating that media companies such as Netflix aren’t investing in those that are accomplishing it. This isn’t just about shows being renewed either; it’s about them being marketed to the world. It’s understandable that if a show isn’t getting a big enough audience it’s going to be in the firing line, but the logical thing to do would be to take actionable steps to make people aware of it. Social media is huge and is where the audiences for TV shows seem to develop nowadays. Why not take advantage of that?

The reaction on social media to the cancellation of The OA proves this entirely. Simply search “#RenewTheOA” and you’ll see just how many people are talking about it. There are even some celebrity supporters such as Shonda Rhimes who have had their say.

I am holding a grudge about the fact that they cancelled the @The_OA on us. I thought it would pass but…not so much. — shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) August 30, 2019

The support for the show doesn’t stop there either. Most notably, there have been flash-mobs in Times Square and hunger strikes (which the creators of the show have rightfully intervened in). There’s also a petition to save The OA which currently has over 80k signatures.

Fans aren’t holding back in showing their support for this show. Surely that send Netflix a pretty strong message?

Fans trying to save The OA raised $5,000 for a Times Square billboard and learned the freaky dance to perform in a flash mob. The POWER OF TV!! pic.twitter.com/1uHvP9cJN4 — trey taylor (@treytylor) August 28, 2019

It’s not just The OA where this has happened either. The popular Netflix series ‘Sense8’ was cancelled back in 2017 and fans haven’t stopped campaigning for its renewal since. The initial reaction to the Sense8 cancellation worked though, as Netflix decided to give fans a 2 hour special to tie up the narrative. Is there hope for the same to happen to The OA?

It’s notable too that a large amount of the shows that Netflix has cancelled in recent years are some of their most diverse. Sense8, The Get Down, Gypsy, One Day at a Time just to name a few. The OA has a very inclusive cast, with the most notable character being Buck who is a transgender character played by trans actor Ian Alexander. The creators set out to specifically hire an Asian-American trans actor for the role and that’s exactly what they did. As with every element of The OA, they didn’t tell the same old character narratives that we see all the time and gave a voice to those who are rarely given the opportunity.

The creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij originally had 5 season mapped out for the series, so there was clearly a lot more to unravel. Hopefully if the support for The OA continues to grow, it’ll get the resolution it deserves.