CarterMatt Awards 2019: Will Outlander, Lucifer, The Expanse, Timeless, or Shadowhunters win Best Fanbase?
Welcome to the 2018 CarterMatt Awards! This is our seventh annual year-end series where we as a site celebrate some of the best that TV has to offer! Our staff collectively hand-picks nominees across a wide array of different fields, and then leaves it up to you to declare the winner. We’ve had a fun time over the years with these awards and creating some fun debate throughout the month of December. Hopefully, this time around is no exception!
Today we’re discussing Best Fanbase, a category that is always fun because it’s a celebration of the people who make the shows we all love what they are and fight to keep them around on the air. We’ve done this category for many years now, but specifically for 2018 we wanted to focus on fandoms that have gone above and beyond to do great things for their shows — whether it be delivering big ratings, scoring awards, or saving them from cancellation.
Voting rules – Vote however often you’d like! If you are having issues with voting, a handy guide can be found later on in this article.
The nominees
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC) – Fans of the Nine-Nine, assemble! There was a really crazy turnaround earlier this year when it comes to the Andy Samberg comedy. It was canceled at Fox but, after a LOUD social-media outcry from it’s fanbase, it was saved shortly after by NBC. Thanks to the fans, this series now has a second life and beyond that, it has landed at a place that may be much more of its rightful home.
The Expanse (Amazon) – The Expanse found itself in a somewhat-similar position, except that they had to wait a little while longer in order to learn of their show’s future. Following a somewhat-baffling decision over at Syfy to end the series there, Amazon listened to the fans passionate pleas for more and eventually opted to bring the show back. We’re waiting to see what the future now holds, but without this fanbase, how would this even be possible?
Lucifer (Netflix) – The #SaveLucifer campaign is one of the most notable ones of the year, and refused to give up their show. For weeks, there was no public indicator that there was a specific suitor out there for the show. Yet, the fans kept pushing, whether it be voting for it in various online polls or sharing thoughts and memories. The entire Lucifan audience fought long and hard, and eventually, Netflix gave the show another life.
One Chicago (NBC) – Chi-Hards have always been passionate about Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD. Yet, 2018 posed a rather-interesting opportunity for all of them. For the first time, all three of these shows were going to be airing on the same night! The concern here was that it was too much of a commitment for viewers to watch three hours of TV on a given night. Luckily, that’s been proven wrong and the ratings so far this fall have been nothing short of outstanding.
Outlander (Starz) – The epic love story is still going strong in its fourth season, but its impact goes so far beyond just the series itself. This is a show that has continued to dominate online polls and has established everything from an elaborate convention circuit to great charity platforms for its cast beyond the show. This is an extremely giving fan base and one that has shown time and time again, that Outlander is so much more than just a show.
Shadowhunters (Freeform) – Should we list off all of the things that the fans have done since Freeform canceled the series? Think in terms of a petition, donations to The Trevor Project, an airplane banner, a Times Square billboard, subway ads, social-media pushes, and a whole lot more. This has been one of the biggest, most-passionate save-our-show campaigns to date and regardless what happens next, this fanbase deserves all the commendation in the world.
Timeless (NBC) – So far, Timeless fans have already fought for their show via a helicopter ride, billboards, and so much more — and all of their efforts have paid off in the form of a two-hour movie airing on December 20! The future of the series remains uncertain after that point, but it does feel reasonably clear that Clockblockers are going to be there to fight to save their show. They’ve been there every step of the way.
Wynonna Earp (Syfy) – Whether it be live-tweeting sessions, conventions, meet-ups, or other events, Earpers have shown themselves to be some of the kindest, most-supportive fans out there. They’ve formed a wonderful community and turned this little-engine-that-could series into one of Syfy’s biggest hits — it’s been so successful, in fact, that the network has renewed it the past two years at Comic-Con, long before they needed to.