Entertainment
Netflix’s 6-Part Fantasy Thriller Series Is So Good, It Sparked a Full Fan Revolt
By day, he’s a crime consultant. By night, he’s the Devil. Loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name, Lucifer took both network and streaming by storm with its anti-hero, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis). True to his biblical origins, Lucifer is tasked with punishing the morally corrupt for eternity. However, he grows tired of working for God — and of being barred from Heaven. Like the rebel he is, he packs his bags and heads to Earth in search of freedom. Of course, it’s not that simple, and his story spirals out into six dramatic seasons, but what happened behind the scenes is somehow even more dramatic. Lucifer nearly faced cancellation during the show’s major climaxes, only to be saved by divine intervention, a.k.a. the show’s devoted fans.
What Is ‘Lucifer’ About?
Serving as a more urban fantasy–leaning take on the original DC Comics character, Lucifer follows Lucifer Morningstar, who is furious after being cast out of Heaven by God and condemned to punish sinners forever. Determined to rebel against his father, the Devil packs his bags and builds a new life in the City of Angels: Los Angeles. When he’s not busy bringing women back to his flashy penthouse or drinking copious amounts of alcohol, he runs his exclusive nightclub, Lux. However, everything changes when someone is shot outside his club, leading him to cross paths with Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German).
After being the first to discover a dead body outside his club — and determined to clear his name — Lucifer accompanies Detective Decker on her investigation. What she doesn’t realize is that he possesses powers that can expedite her work. Although Lucifer is ultimately proven innocent, the experience gives him a new sense of purpose on Earth: becoming a crime consultant. Decker is understandably hesitant to have someone like him on the team, but Lucifer quickly proves he has a knack for getting to the bottom of cases. Meanwhile, back in Heaven, those watching from the clouds are far from pleased with his new career.
‘Lucifer’ Puts a Supernatural Spin on the Crime Thriller Genre
Lucifer keeps things both fresh and familiar. Each episode follows a new criminal investigation somewhere in Los Angeles, reminiscent of more recent procedurals like High Potential. Although they make an effective team, Lucifer and Decker are constantly at odds, largely due to Lucifer’s immaturity clashing with Decker’s sternness. However, for all of Lucifer’s unseriousness, the devil proves to be exceptionally skilled at his “crime consulting” job — mainly because his powers allow him to draw out people’s deepest desires, something Decker remains completely unaware of. At the same time, his life becomes increasingly complicated as he’s persistently hounded by celestial beings in human form, ranging from his angelic brother, Amenadiel (D. B. Woodside), to biblical figures like Cain (Tom Welling) and Eve (Invar Lavi).
However, somewhere around the midpoint of all six seasons of Lucifer, things get incredibly heavy. What initially starts as Lucifer’s “passion project” becomes complicated, as eternal forces threaten to take away the life he has built on Earth — and the people he has come to care about. The moment those same forces begin manifesting in murders, putting the civilians of Los Angeles at risk, Lucifer stops messing around. This shift is what makes the show worth watching. In angelic lore, celestial beings are emotionally detached and objective towards mortals. Yet in the series, the Devil himself proves to be, ironically, the most human.
Fans Saved ‘Lucifer’ from Impending Cancellation
Despite its strong popularity, Lucifer nearly met an abrupt end in 2018 when Fox cancelled the show following its Season 3 cliffhanger finale. The decision was largely attributed to declining viewership: while Season 1 averaged 7.17 million viewers, Season 3 dropped to around 4.16 million. Co-showrunner Joe Henderson said the cancellation came as a complete surprise, especially since the finale was intentionally written as a cliffhanger under the assumption the network wouldn’t pull the plug. Notably, Lucifer was cancelled in the same month as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, another Fox staple.
As the producers process the loss, fans refused to accept it, launching the #SaveLucifer campaign with viral hashtags, petitions, and lobbying efforts aimed at streaming platforms. Fortunately, Netflix stepped in and revived Lucifer for Season 4, eventually carrying it through its series finale in Season 6. The save was worth the risk. By the time Lucifer reached the second half of Season 5 on Netflix, it had garnered 1.8 billion viewing minutes. The campaign is a strong example of how accessible social media is for fans to advocate for their favorite shows — especially in today’s era, where many series are canceled too quickly to fully grow an audience. More importantly, it proves that Lucifer was simply too good to let go.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2021
- Network
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FOX, Netflix
- Directors
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Nathan Hope, Eagle Egilsson, Louis Shaw Milito, Sherwin Shilati, Claudia Yarmy, Greg Beeman, Tara Nicole Weyr, Lisa Demaine, Richard Speight Jr., Kevin Alejandro, Viet Nguyen, Alrick Riley, Eduardo Sánchez, Sam Hill, Mairzee Almas, Ben Hernandez Bray, Brad Tanenbaum, D.B. Woodside, David Frazee, David Paymer, Eriq La Salle, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Mark Tonderai, Matt Earl Beesley
- Writers
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Jen Graham Imada, David McMillan
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