CarterMatt Awards 2017: Outlander, Supernatural, SVU, Wynonna Earp among Best Fanbase nominees

The Best Fanbase category at the CarterMatt Awards is one of our favorite ones, largely because it flips the script. It’s not about celebrating a show — it’s about celebrating the people who watch it! This is voters effectively voting for themselves, and recognizing the hard work and passion that they put into the show. Viewers hold a lot of power in the social-media age — they can create trends, inspire renewal campaigns, create conventions, and turn a viewership community into a welcoming, positive, and fun place to be a part of. We’ve had wonderful experiences with many of the fan bases nominated this year and we’re very excited to see what some of the end results are.

Below, you can see all our CarterMatt staff picks for the category, alongside all of the individual reasons why they were chosen. At the end of the article, vote for your favorite to win!

(Note: If you are on mobile and cannot see the poll, scroll to the bottom of the article and click to view the non-AMP version.)

Now, without further ado, let’s get to sharing the nominations.

Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD  (NBC) – They’re affectionately called the Chi-Hards, and for good reason: They watch the shows every week, ‘ship their favorite characters, relish the crossovers, and form one of the most supportive cross-shows fandoms out there. Ultimately, there are few other fandoms quite like this who watch every show within the extended universe.

Dark Matter (Syfy) – It shouldn’t be lost on anyone how hard the fans worked in order to get the series another home after the cancellation — it was more than worthy of one! The Dark Matter fans themselves are wonderfully creative and find a kinship with the series and its themes. While this nomination may not be consolation for fans who wanted more new episodes, hopefully it comes as recognition for some of their hard work.

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – As you continue down this list you’re going to see a number of long-running shows included and there is a specific reason for that — it takes a lot of fan support to get a show on the air for more than a decade! Grey’s Anatomy fans have stuck with numerous cast changes, heartbreaking character deaths, and with the occasional time-slot switch to go along with it. The crazy thing is that this is still one of TV’s top-rated shows and is still gaining a huge number of viewers monthly thanks to Netflix.

Law & Order: SVU (NBC) – We consider the #SVUDiehards their own group, even if they have crossed over with One Chicago before — they’ve been around for so long that they’re independent of any other series. These are fans who tweet using custom hashtags every week, support important causes outside of the show, and continue to support the series in a big way no matter when it airs or what it’s up against. SVU remains NBC’s #1 Wednesday show even so far into its run — other than This Is Us, is there a scripted drama on the network performing consistently better?

Longmire (Netflix) – The #LongmirePosse got the show back on the air at Netflix after it was cancelled and then they got the show a sixth season. Now, they have another challenge as they fight to make sure the show gets some feature films down the road. Longmire has accomplished a lot thanks to its fans and there could be more to come. There’s a sense of pride and relatability with many of these characters; they represent a group and a place not often recognized on television.

Outlander (Starz) – The reigning champions in this category and one of the most supportive, passionate followings out there. Like SVU they also use custom hashtags and watch the show no matter when its on. To go along with that, they have one of the strongest voting blocks out there. We cannot overstate the fans helping to ensure that Outlander was the first cable series in recent memory to take home the Favorite TV Show title at the People’s Choice Awards — even if CBS egregiously ignored it during the broadcast.

Supernatural (The CW) – The #SPNFamily has won this CarterMatt Award in the past, and they’re almost a perennial candidate when you think about the series’ longevity and the support that they continue show over the years. There are specific Supernatural conventions all over the world, a number of charity campaigns annually, and there’s also the fact that this show manages to land big magazine covers thanks strictly to fan votes.

Wynonna Earp (Syfy) – This was admittedly the first year that we really had a chance to get on board the Wynonna Earp bandwagon and see what some of the hype was about — suffice it to say, we were more than impressed not just with the quality of the show, but also the love and adoration that the fans have for it and the entire cast and crew. Earpers get the show trending worldwide on a fairly regular basis when episodes are on, and in the process have a tremendous sense of humor and positive energy about it.