Sci-Fi Cult Classic Cartoon Creator Trying To Buy Back Canceled Series
If you’re a fan of adult animation, you may hold a passing familiarity with the short-lived series Final Space which premiered on TBS and Adult Swim from 2018 through 2021. The series, which was created and developed for television by YouTuber Olan Rogers, was infamously canceled before its time, causing Rogers to launch a crowdfunded effort to wrap up the series with an upcoming graphic novel installment. Now, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Olan Rogers has strongly considered purchasing the rights to the entire show from Warner Brothers in order to reboot or officially conclude the cult-classic show.
An Expensive Endeavor
According to Olan Rogers, he has spoken to his lawyers regarding the possibility of purchasing Final Space on more than one occasion, though doing so would be a daunting task. Rogers claims that such a deal would be the very first of its kind, and that the financial toll would be quite staggering.
Still, several fans have taken to social media with promises to donate to any GoFundMe or Kickstarter to support this effort, as the series is currently not available to stream on any major service, much to the chagrin of Rogers’ droves of loyal followers.
You Gotta Fight! For Your Right! To Own Your Own Series …
Like many modern shows, Final Space has been lost to streaming due to a complex web of ownership rights, as well as a general apathy towards art from top executives at Warner Brothers. The series originally premiered on TBS, with episodes available to stream on the network’s website after their initial release on cable. After Final Space‘s first season, the show was shifted over to Adult Swim, where episodes would air before being ported onto the now-defunct HBO Max streaming service in America, with Netflix distributing the series internationally.
Erased From Streaming Entirely
Unfortunately, after Final Space was canceled, Warner Brothers executives either forgot about the show entirely, or decided to dump it as a tax write-off like they recently did for completed films such as Batgirl and Coyote Vs. Acme, because the show has been fully eradicated from Netflix, Max, and even the TBS and Adult Swim websites. If you’d like to watch Final Space today, your only hope is to individually purchase the episodes through digital retailers such as iTunes and YouTube.
Too Soon To Tell What Will Happen
Final Space touts an incredibly loyal following of obsessed super-fans, who have no doubt been harassing the series’ creator regarding the state of the show for months. Luckily, it seems that Olan Rogers feels as strongly about his fan-favorite project as we do, because he has taken it upon himself to consider this arduous undertaking, even if it’s unprecedented and prohibitively expensive.
For now, there’s no confirmation that Rogers will actually buy out Final Space, but his confirmation that he’s spoken to his lawyer about it is all the indication fans need to know that the wheels are in motion.
Final Space: The Final Chapter
As it currently stands, Rogers is in the midst of completing Final Space: The Final Chapter, a graphic novel that will serve as the conclusion to the unfinished show. The project is currently available for preorder through the site FinalSpaceEnds, with nearly 30,000 copies of the comic already spoken for.
If Rogers does manage to do the impossible and retain the rights to the show for good, he may still be able to revive the series, or at the very least, put it on a streaming service where new fans can find it.
