Within hours of Syfy canceling The Expanse, fans of the series began to make as much noise on the internet as they possibly could about why the show should be saved.

Thankfully, Amazon was listening.

In response to the show’s cancellation, fans signed petitions and chipped in to rent an airplane with a message pleading with Amazon to bring the show back. According to Amazon Studios CEO Jennifer Salke, while the production company had already been considering whether to pursue The Expanse internally, the fandom’s love for the show definitely played a role in shaping how things turned out.

The fact that cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine got picked up by NBC after Fox canceled it probably didn’t have a direct effect, but it showed everyone that other networks are willing to rescue quality shows that suffer a premature death through lack of foresight.

In an interview with Deadline, Salke explained that even though she wasn’t familiar with the show, it was impossible to ignore how passionately people felt about it:

“There were airplanes circling us, I was having cakes delivered, there was a whole thing happening. And then really smart people, whose opinions I really value creatively, started reaching out to me, saying, ‘have you seen this show, The Expanse, it’s actually great.’ I hadn’t so I spent some time, I watched the show and I was like, this show is actually really well done, why is nobody watching it?

At the same time, Jeff Bezos was getting emails from everyone from George R.R. Martin to every captain of industry, like the founder of Craigslist, and they were all writing, saying, there’s this show, it’s so great, you have to see it, you have to buy it or save it.”

Salke went on to describe how relatively easily the deal came together – and how hyped Amazon boss Bezos was to be able to humblebrag that The Expanse was coming back in front of a surprised audience that included the show’s cast. But the real takeaway here is that Amazon actually listened to an impassioned fandom that was advocating for something they love with positive, collaborative energy. In a time when fandom is having a tough time at the moment, it’s nice to see people expressing themselves in a way that doesn’t involve harassing one another and being abusive on social media.

The next episode of The Expanse season 3 airs on Wednesday at 9pm ET on Syfy in the US. Season 1 and 2 are on Netflix in the UK.

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