Lucifer | Michael Courtney/FOX
While it did not come as quickly as that for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” a reprieve did ultimately arrive for “Lucifer.”
The show, which was canceled by FOX after three seasons, will move to Netflix for season four. The streaming giant confirmed the news Friday.
According to Deadline, the reprieve came in the nick-of-time: options on the cast members were to expire at the close of business.
The eleventh-hour nature of the order should not, however, be mistaken for proof that interest was limited. Deadline notes that there were other offers on the table, including one from Amazon. Navigating the show’s previous streaming deal with Hulu — and various overseas distribution deals — complicated (and thus lengthened) the pickup process.
FOX’s cancellation took fans — and “Lucifer” personnel — by surprise. The show has long delivered modest live+same-day ratings (and actually endured a particular struggle this spring), but passionate fan support, decent online buzz and its franchise element presented the show as a bigger deal than was indicated by ratings.
Coupled with the fact that networks seem to be demonstrating more tolerance toward modest ratings in today’s era of streaming and DVRs, the idea of a cancellation doubtfully crossed many fans’ minds.
Making matters worse for fans: season three ended on a particularly major cliffhanger. **SPOILER ALERT** Chloe (Lauren German) saw Lucifer’s (Tom Ellis) true “devil face” — and thus learned he had been telling the truth all along. Lucifer indeed is the devil.
On the heels of the Netflix reprieve, Ellis and German both commented.
Can’t express how grateful and humbled I am by the wave of support that you have all given,” wrote Ellis in an Instagram caption. “Thanks to you #LuciferLives . Thank you to our new home too @Netflix you have made a lot of people very happy.”
“BEYOND GRATEFUL to be part of a company like @netflix Also a huge thank you to all #Lucifer fans who poured their hearts out, tweeted, screamed, cried & showed us they wanted it….and wanted it bad. Thank you #Netflix for snatching us up, we love you already,” wrote German on Instagram.
Additional cast comments follow.