Netflix's 24-Episode Sci-Fi Series Deserves Kudos For Putting Power In The Hands Of Viewers

The most creative and high-quality sci-fi shows of the past 20 years have proven that there is more to the genre than spaceships and aliens, but one aspect of sci-fi has remained impressively consistent, and that is its fanbase. From early Star Trek conventions to the high-profile events of today, sci-fi fans have taken their favorite series seriously, and this has sometimes resulted in fans saving TV shows from cancellation. One of the best of these is Sense8, which explores love and human connection through dreamlike and surreal sequences while telling an action-packed and sometimes nail-biting story.

Sense8 is about eight strangers who discover that they are mentally and emotionally linked and can swap skills in a similar manner to The Matrix, which is hardly surprising as the show was also created by The Wachowskis. When the "cluster" discover that they are in danger, they must use their collective abilities to protect each other. Filmed across 13 countries rather than relying on a studio, the premise and ambitious story make it a mindbending sci-fi TV show that is uniquely life-affirming. However, its final happy ending was hard-won, after viewers found the power to make it happen.

Sense8's Proper Ending Wouldn't Have Happened Without Loyal Fans

Sci-fi has not always had the best of luck, being subject to early cancellation and often resulting in TV shows that have ended before their time. Even Sense8 was a victim of this, with The Wrap reporting that Netflix's Chief Content Officer, Ted Sarandos, had explained at the Produced By Conference that "the audience was very passionate but just not large enough to support the economics of something that big." However, this was not accepted by the show's fans, who, in the spirit of Sense8, combined their skills to co-ordinate a concentrated global effort to save the series.

When Netflix canceled Sense8, the show was left on a major cliffhanger with Wolfgang captured, which added to the fury of the show's fan community. Fans of the genre tend to remember the way the cult sci-fi hit Firefly ended without a proper resolution, and the possibility that this could happen to Sense8 led to a Change.org petition quickly amassing over 500,000 signatures, hashtags like #BringBackSense8 flooding social media and the accounts of Netflix officials, and other fans taking the organic approach by writing letters and calling Netflix's customer service lines.

The response was so loud that in 2017, officials reconsidered, with The Guardian reporting Lana Wachowski's statement addressing fans directly, thanking "The Sense8 family" for "the passionate letters, the petitions, the collective voice that rose up like the fist of Sun to fight for this show." The resulting two-hour finale might not have been the multi-episode final season that some had hoped for, but it allowed the Wachowskis to give the characters real endings in a way that felt organic, making Sense8 a success story of a TV show that fans campaigns helped to save from cancellation.

Sense8 Continues To Have A Lasting Legacy

Sense8 has 86% and 85% positive Rotten Tomatoes ratings from critics and audiences respectively, but as this was lowered due to a slightly less popular installment in the form of the Christmas Special, the show is better than its Rotten Tomatoes scores, which are still respectable. Sense8 has a lasting legacy, remembered for its innovative and human approach to the sci-fi genre, which often has a reputation for being "cold" and more focused on science than sense. On the other hand, Sense8 is a perfect visual representation of a united world that prizes love and diversity.

The show included each of the characters' distinct cultures in a believable way, treating their unique life experiences and backgrounds as essential parts to the story without turning any into stereotypes. This kind of representation and sensitivity is still somewhat rare for TV, and Sense8 keeps getting better over time as it has rarely been equaled in this respect. The fact that life imitated art through the way the series' fandom united to save the show gives it a unique place in the TV landscape, and Sense8 remains a gold standard for both character writing and sci-fi to this day.

Source: The Wrap, The Guardian