Julie and the Phantoms – Picture: Netflix
Fans are continuing to up their game when it comes to getting the attention of Netflix and others in the hopes of getting a second season of Julie and the Phantoms with a US billboard tour.
Julie and the Phantoms is the musical series that was created by Dan Cross & David Hoge that released 9 episodes back in September 2020. After months of silence from Netflix, the show was unceremoneously canceled back in December 2021.
In January 2022, we posted about a big campaign to save Julie and the Phantoms including a petition that’s fast approaching 200,000 signatures.
The latest efforts from the campaign to save the show has been dubbed as The Orpheum Tour which sees theaters, cinemas and billboards around the world taken over by the Save Julie and the Phantoms Campaign
Billboards to save Julie and the Phantoms
Executive producer of Julie and the Phantoms, Kenny Ortega, acknowledged the tour on his Instagram
“Thank you @adultsandthephantoms and @emmaandtheunfinishedbusiness for continuing to show your love and support with the funding of an amazing 20 billboards…and to all the #Fantoms for your love, and support honoring @julieandthephantoms in lights all over the world …with gratitude and endless love…”
Sacha Carlson responded to the campaign in a reply saying “Best fans in the world.”
We spoke to Debbit Metzler who is one of the people working on the campaign.
Can you tell me how you came invested in the show yourself and why it means so much to you?
Julie and the Phantoms got on my radar after it was announced Netflix would be canceling it. My best friend, who had seen the show when it was released, told me about how she was disappointed at the news and my curiosity was piqued. Her enthusiasm for the show was contagious, and after I finished the season, I was hooked. She and I talked about how it’s baffling that Netflix would cancel an award-winning show that had been loved by audiences and critics for its themes of inclusivity, inspiring and supportive friendships, incredibly catchy tunes, and just a little spark of magic to keep hope alive during a time in the world when we all could use a little more feel-good content in our lives. It was my friend’s innovative idea to get a sign on the Orpheum Theatre in Sydney, which sparked the current global fan-led initiative to increase viewership of the show.
How has the reaction been from the cast or the crew of the show?
Executive producer Kenny Ortega has posted on his Instagram account about his appreciation to the fans for going to such creative lengths to get attention for the show. The campaign’s posts have received likes, comments, and story shares from several cast and crew members, which has prompted two surprise additional tour dates in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
What would you hope as a response from Netflix if even it’s not a reversal of the decision?
Netflix has yet to officially make a statement about the cancellation. It’s hard to imagine how they could deny that this popular show deserves another chance, but if it isn’t in the cards for another season or a feature film to wrap up the story, the fans would love to at least see Julie and the Phantoms in concert. In fact, some of the theaters we have worked on the Orpheum project with have expressed interest in hosting a show if they do hit the road. Some fans have also been openly campaigning to get Netflix to sell the rights to another service.
Can you give us a hint at where the tour heads next (ie which countries)?
Part of the fun is keeping the next stops a surprise, but you can count on seeing more dates on the North America the U.K. legs of the tour soon. Fans who don’t live near one of the stops (so far) have been participating by holding their own signs to share on social media, some have even been in front of local theaters. Since this tour relies entirely on crowd-funding, how many places we can go all depends on fan donations. We’re very happy to be able to support the local arts and it’s been a blast getting to work with so many wonderful theater staff across the world. Stay tuned for more!
Revival campaigns have had varied results at Netflix. Two successful campaigns include Sense8 fans who eventually went onto get a movie to wrap up the story while Lucifer fans managed to get Netflix to reverse their decision to make season 5 the last season.
Anne with an E is a good example of a campaign coming to a bitter end despite picking up 1.5 million signatures.
Would you like to see Julie and the Phantoms revived at Netflix or elsewhere? Let us know in the comments down below.