Dedicated fans worldwide have joined forces to keep Hallmark Channel from canceling its hit series Good Witch. The network announced two weeks ago it wasn’t renewing the show, which has run for seven seasons.
In the past five days, a change.org petition asking the network not to cancel the show has amassed more than 20,000 views and more than 4,000 signatures. There are 246 Instagram posts with the “SaveGoodWitch” hashtag, and a fan in Spain has even started a website, savegoodwitch.wixsite.com/my-site, to save the show.
Sixteen-year-old Daniela Gosendi discovered Good Witch on Netflix and watched Seasons 1 through 6 in four weeks. Because the show isn’t broadcast in Spain, she would Skype a friend in the US to watch each episode of Season 7. With the time difference, that meant staying up until the early morning hours to catch up with the Merriwick women.
“The show has really changed my life,” she said in an email. “And that happens to a lot of us. That’s why we can’t lose it.”
Fan Lisa Choi started the change.org petition to save the show and the Instagram page Save Good Witch. She says the show is unique and uplifting.
“There is always a positive message, quote, or lesson that you learn in every episode,” said Choi of Garden City, Mich. “It’s like food soul that continuously feeds your mind, body, and spirit. The show is calming and always making you believe in yourself if only you have a little faith.”
Good Witch fans were ‘blindsided’
Choi said that fans aren’t just upset that the show is ending, but that the decision to cancel it seemed to come out of nowhere.
“They blindsided us,” she said.
Hallmark announced it would cancel the series in a press release on July 9. This was one day after a Facebook Live event during which three of the show’s stars teased the remaining three episodes of the season. The series finale will air Sunday, July 25.
On Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, fans have speculated about why the series ended abruptly. Some believe it was because of complaints the network received over introducing a same-sex storyline.
The consumer feedback site complaintsboard.com gave examples of messages sent to Hallmark regarding Good Witch.
Hallmark has not commented on the speculation. The network has said the series has “reached a natural conclusion after a remarkable 13-year run in response to media and fan queries.”
Good Witch’s long history
Good Witch started as a series of made-for-TV movies which first aired on the Hallmark Channel in 2008. The films followed Cassie Nightingale, a mysterious woman who moved to a small town and began changing everyone’s lives for the better with kindness and magic.
In 2015, it was adapted into a TV series. Star Catherine Bell has always been open about her admiration for the character she plays.
“You have an imperfection, and she turns it around to your uniqueness,” she said during an interview with Extra. “Glass half full. I think that’s a beautiful way to look at life.”
Many fans have cited Cassie’s kindness and good attitude for their love of the show.
Anne Lenk started watching Good Witch during the pandemic. A TikTok star with more than 106,000 followers, Lenk has hypotonia ataxia, a condition resulting in low muscle tone. Some people are cruel to her because of her condition, she says. Good Witch became something of a refuge for her.
“Every time I watch Good Witch, it helps me not think about all the hate that I get,” she said.
She is also a huge fan of Catherine Bell.
“I would love to meet her in real life someday and give her a big hug and tell her that she has no idea how much she means to me,” she said.
The series finale of Good Witch will air Sunday, July 25 at 9/8c on Hallmark.