Shadowhunters: Fans Are Fighting Hard For The Series

All the Legends are true. We’re Shadowhunters. We protect the Human World from the Demon World.

In 2007, City of Bones was published as the first book in The Mortal Instruments series and since then, Cassandra Clare has become one of the most beloved authors of the YA genre worldwide.

Such a success was quickly recognised in movie world  and soon Constantin Film bought the rights to create a movie adaptation. In 2013, the film starred Lily Collins in the leading role of Clary Fray, but unfortunately it wasn’t as big of a success as they had hoped to be causing it to be the only adaptation in what was intended to be a franchise.

After three years, Freeform (or ABC Family at the time) announced they would be adapting the book series into a television series. In cooperation with Netflix, who has the rights to show each episode internationally. January 2016 saw the first episode air, and now two years later, the series is currently on a summer hiatus after airing the first 10 episodes of season 3.

However, on June 5th it was announced that show would be coming to an end due to economic reasons. The series is set to air 3B, which would be 10 episodes long, due to it already being filmed and then a two-part finale in 2019.

Shadowfamily- this has come as a complete and utter shock & I am deeply saddened. To make this show for you has been an uncommon privilege. We built this film family together and we couldn’t be more proud of all the talent in front of & behind the camera who brought SH to life.

— Matt Hastings (@mattdirector) June 5, 2018

The Shadowhunter fandom instantly began to protest with five million tweets in one week, over 120,000 signatures on a petition, and over US$11000 on a Trevor Project Campaign. From what we know so far, Freeform wants to focus on new shows so Netflix pulled out their international backing because they wanted to make more episodes. This led to fans using the #SaveShadowhunters hashtag on Twitter.

With the unexpected cancellation, Freeform announced to the shocked cast and fans that they will be making a 2-hour series finale to end the show, answer all the burning questions, and ultimately give the fans what they deserve.

The question that lingers for fans worldwide: is that even possible? Can a 2-hour finale cover everything the show began to explore and give both readers and fans all the scenes they’ve been hoping for?

So let’s break it down shall we?

Shadowhunters tells the story of Clary who turns 18 and hopes to celebrate her birthday with her best friend Simon, until she sees two young men killing someone at a club. But it doesn’t end there as her mother disappears and she gets attached by a monster, which is later revealed to be a demon. One of the men takes care of Clary and she learns who they are and in fact, she is ‘one of them’. She is a Shadowhunter as her veins carry angelic blood and her ancestors have sworn to protect the human world from demons with the world also filled with Downworlders, including vampires, werewolves, fairies, and warlocks.

Now you may think that this is ‘just another supernatural story’, but this is not the case. Shadowhunters combines the supernatural with the angelic, alongside family, love, friendship, diversity, and LGBT+.

Let’s have a closer look at the characters:

Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara) has grown up being very protected. After her mother is kidnapped, she has to find her place in a new world she never knew existed. She had to learn the world of the Shadowhunters and in no time, her natural ability showed and she could fight just like them. Her character sees the good in every person and her soft side is expressed through her art.

Simon Lewis (Alberto Rosende) is Clary’s best friend and he’s the embodiment of what everyone would want in a friend as he would do anything for the people he loves and cares about. Through Clary, Simon finds his way into the Shadow world quite quickly, and he has to deal with the negative side of it when he’s turned into a vampire and forced to leave his family in order to protect them from himself.

Jace Wayland (Dominic Sherwood) was orphaned early on his life, but luckily found his home with the Lightwood’s who adopted him. Robert Lightwood was the parabatai (essentially a very close fighting pair) of Jace’s father and he felt responsible to care for Jace. He is not only known for his sarcasm and charm, but also to be one of the best Shadowhunters of his generation. Unfortunately, Jace never had an easy life and later finds out that his real father is one of the biggest enemies to the Shadowhunters.

Alec Lightwood (Matthew Daddario) is Jace’s parabatai and he is the oldest of the three Lightwood siblings. Alec can see through Jace’s hard shell into his softer side, which screams “love me, because nobody ever has”. Since he is the oldest, Alec feels the pressure to be the perfect son and the perfect Shadowhunter to honour the legacy of his family. Because of that, he suppresses his feelings and doesn’t live his life as he would like to. He eventually comes to a point where he can no longer be the epitome of perfection and finally accepts himself the way he is and does not care about what others might think.

Isabelle Lightwood (Emeraude Toubia) is Alec’s younger sister and she is an absolute beauty. While the show initially portrayed her that way, the producers soon altered her character as it wasn’t exactly the right way to show a fearless, kick-ass female which could be a role model for many. Her character soon took on a role of leadership to show her intelligence and to make her stand on her own.

Magnus Bane (Harry Shum Jr.) is a Downworlder and the High Warlock of Brooklyn. He is hundreds of years old, openly bisexual, intelligent, and always there to help everyone in need. The importance of such a character nowadays is huge, especially for the LGBT community.

Luke Garroway (Isaiah Mustafa) took up the mantle of Clary’s father and he was the parabatai to Clary’s real father and a close friend to Clary’s mother. His character is shown to be a police officer in the series and he’s also a werewolf. To him, nothing is more important than his family and his pack.

Maia Roberts (Alisha Wainwright) was found by Luke after her first turning as a werewolf and he automatically took her in and helped her accept her new self.

Raphael Santiago (David Castro) is like a son to Magnus and the pair share a strong bond with him turning to Magnus occasionally for help and guidance. Raphael is also the leader of the New York coven and helps Simon with his transition.

So why would a network cancel such a show that combines so many unique characters and storylines? Economic reasons seems questionable and it doesn’t seem like a suitable explanation for the Shadowhunters fandom.

Although the TV show is different from the books, which is not always easy for those fans to accept who knows the books by heart. A book-to-screen adaptation is never an easy step, but the screenwriters and producers tried to balance this with special care.

The series addressed many interesting topics, which is great since it has such a diverse cast and characters, with LGBT characters comfortable with who they are and helping those who trying to find their way. The show shows pure friendship and the importance of friendship with the parabatai bond an important ceremony in the Shadow world. Never before was friendship made into a source of strength, and for me, this is one of the most beautiful description of friendship I have ever seen in a TV show and it’s also reflected in the fandom. A lot of friendships have been made since the show aired thanks to social media and conventions.

What also makes this show special is that it shows that it is okay to be yourself. Everyone knows that feeling of being an outsider, because they are different, like “strange” things, think on their own, or unable to be accepted. Everyone struggles at some point in their lives, they have to find themselves and decide who they want to be. Every character in this show is showing that it is okay to be who you are, that you do not have to think about what others want you to be and you do not have to let them tell how to act. Just because a lot of people, aka the society, tell you “you’re strange”, does not mean that you really are.

Can the show be saved? Netflix would be the obvious solution. They already financed the show in cooperation with Freeform and they are still interested in continuing the production. Due to legal rights, which lie with Constantin Film and Freeform, the whole situation is far from easy. Fingers crossed that they will find a way to get that cleared out. For the sake of the fandom!

The fandom are making their thoughts loud and clear so that they can be heard. Every tweet Freeform makes receives hundred of #SaveShadowhunters comments, even though the tweet is not always related to the show.

During the wave of hashtags, Tim Quirk the CEO of a company named Freeform (not related) got accidentally tagged in tweets and responded to this.

So, I started a company called Freeform in 2014. A couple years later, ABC Family rebranded itself Freeform. Now, random teens keep tweeting at me to save their favorite shows from cancellation. How should I reply?

— Tim Quirk (@tbquirk) June 13, 2018

Wow. So I have never seen nor heard of Shadow Hunters before tonight, but it seems to mean a lot to a lot of people, so what the hell: I’m watching the first episode with a friend and joining the #SaveShadowhunters campaign.

— Tim Quirk (@tbquirk) June 13, 2018

The cast is showing how grateful they are to the fans for trying to save the show and they do as much as they can to support the fans. Unfortunately, probably because of their current contracts since the 2-hour finale has not been shot yet, the cast and crew are not as active as with tweeting, hashtags, and supporting the movement.

It seems that the fans have to wait a little bit longer to get the final word if the show will be renewed, picked up, or not. Until then, let’s speak the parabatai oath and scream at the tops of our lungs that Shadowhunters have to be renewed!

“Entreat me not to leave thee,
Or return from following after thee—
For whither thou goest, I will go,
And where thou lodgest, I will lodge.
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.
The Angel do so to me, and more also,
If aught but death part thee and me.”

Do you want to see the series continue? Tell us in the comments below!