Not many children would actually want to get more of a school subject, but those children apparently haven’t watched AP Bio. But as word spread that AP Bio would not return for a third season, many involved with the NBC show hoped to create momentum online to revive it.
The show, which starred Glenn Howerton as a disgraced Harvard philosophy professor who takes a job as an AP Biology teacher in Toledo, Ohio. After two seasons on air Max O’Brien, the show’s creator, tweeted about NBC’s decision to end the show on Friday night.
loving the work, so this is very hard. We have 4 left to air and they're 4 of my favorites. Plus 22 others are on Hulu (for now) and https://t.co/wUeZQNY5WZ. Please check them out and tell a friend about the show and tell the people who worked on it that they did a good job!
— Mike O'Brien (@MikeOBrienXOXO) May 25, 2019
But in this world full of impermanence, there’s always a chance that a TV show can get revived if the news of it getting cancelled made enough waves online. That’s clearly what Patton Oswalt, who also starred on the show, was hoping for. All Memorial Day weekend, Oswalt implored fans of the show to be vocal about their disappointment that the show would not see a third season.
This has…not been a great day. Please read this thread and know everyone on @NBCAPBio had the most fun making that show and we’re sad that none of us get to see where it was gonna go. But we’re glad for the trip we got to take. Thank you @MikeOBrienXOXO. #APBio https://t.co/ogFJ6TNMTS
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 25, 2019
What if? WHAT IF?!? #SaveAPBio 🍎 https://t.co/qzqfRZDnUr
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 25, 2019
Help us, Hamill! #SaveAPBio https://t.co/casMZ7SDJX
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 25, 2019
Howerton joined in as well.
👇👇👇#SaveAPBio👇👇👇 https://t.co/O2bSwcOB4u
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 25, 2019
Significant momentum for the movement grew on Saturday, as other big stars joined the wave of support on Twitter.
I am so beyond touched by the explosion of support that #SaveAPBio is getting that I need to pay it forward. @OliviaWilde has made a remarkable film called @Booksmart and if you’re able to see it this weekend PLEASE DO. And then go back home and #BingeBioOnHulu!!!! https://t.co/sc5qt9i1e8
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 26, 2019
This is a true fact! #SaveAPBio! https://t.co/9DANJgpdxi
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) May 25, 2019
Oswalt, among others, asked fans to binge watch AP Bio, which is streaming on Hulu, to give the show’s numbers a boost and draw attention to the surge of support it’s gotten in recent days.
I mean, there’s no better way to spend Memorial Day than binge-ing @NBCAPBio on @hulu. Who KNOWS what might happen if those numbers spiked? Whoooooo knows? #SaveAPBio #BingeBioOnHulu pic.twitter.com/73VQt9FYSx
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 25, 2019
The show’s fate remains highly uncertain, but a significant campaign to save it is usually enough to give these kind of decisions at least a second look. And shows like Brooklyn 99 have, in recent years, found new life after an online groundswell of support once the show was seemingly taken off the air. Whether AP Bio gets the 99 treatment is unclear as of yet, but
