Wynonna Earp WILL return after fan campaign to save show
Update 2/7/19: Good news Earpers, all of your hard work paid off! Wynonna Earp will be returning for its fourth season.
An announcement from Syfy US and IDW on Tuesday (July 2) confirmed the production on new episodes will begin later in the year, with the fourth season set to premiere in the US and internationally next year.
IDW ran into financial difficulties earlier this year, but an agreement with Syfy and new international production partner Cineflix Studios will allow Wynonna Earp to get back on track as originally planned!
Dear Earpers,
We’re very pleased to announce WE ARE ALL IN for another season of #WynonnaEarp & wanted you to know how much we appreciate everyone who’s rallied behind the show & kept the faith.
Thank You! #Victory4Wynonna! pic.twitter.com/grEADnMa9Z- IDW Entertainment (@IDWEntertain) July 2, 2019
“We are absolutely thrilled that we get to make more Wynonna Earp, and are grateful to our networks and partners for working hard to ensure we can,” showrunner and executive producer Emily Andras said Tuesday.
“This is an enormous testament to our passionate and fierce fans, the Earpers, who remind us every day how to fight like hell for the things you love with wit, ferocity and kindness.”
Syfy US also said it was pleased to be bringing the Western series back to "the most passionate fans anywhere".
"To our Earper friends: Thank you for your patience and faith as we worked with our partners to ensure that Wynonna can get back to where it belongs… on Syfy," a network statement read.
The exciting news of the show's revival came after a sustained movement among the show's fans, called Earpers, on social media while IDW and Syfy's financial issues were being worked on.
A post shared by SYFY (@syfy) on Jul 2, 2019 at 11:18am PDT
Original: Wynonna Earp fans have been on tenterhooks for a while now, after it became clear that there was some trouble around the production of the show's fourth season.
While the Syfy series was renewed for a fourth season last summer, the progressive cult favourite show did not begin production in February as they had in previous years, leaving fans concerned for the future of the show.
Producers previously told Digital Spy that they are committed to the series and were working out the details, but a new report has shed light on just how tough those details might be to sort out.
As stated by The Hollywood Reporter, financial difficulties are behind the halt in production.
IDW Publishing own the rights to the series, and the company negotiated a deal with Syfy (which airs the show in the US) to license the new seasons, covering part of the cost of production. But 'part' is the key word here, as IDW doesn't have enough capital to get the ball rolling again.
A big part of the problem is said to be that while IDW secured a deal with Netflix to host the first two seasons internationally (which generates enough capital to cover the costs of previous seasons), it hasn't secured any deals for season three or beyond, meaning IDW are left struggling to meet the costs of production.
The publication quotes Adam Wyden – founder of hedge fund ADW, which owns 9 percent of IDW Media Holdings (it's confusing, we know) – as saying: "The way you have to think about it is, is it worth making Wynonna Earp and taking the risk that you don't sell out the international? How do we justify making season four and five if we know we're going to lose money?
"IDW is working very, very hard to try and sell up the international windows so they can limit the amount of risk. The company wants to make Wynonna Earp."
This is probably bittersweet news to the fans involved in the #FightForWynonna campaign, but perhaps it gives them a better idea of how to ensure seasons four and give get made: show the international distributors that there is an audience ready and waiting.
"I think if all these Wynonna Earp people really want it to come back, they should be emailing Netflix and saying, 'Pick up the international rights'," Wyden added. "That's what I would do."
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
('You Might Also Like',)
