Spoilers ahead for the series finale of Rebel on ABC.
Freshman drama Rebel seemed like a surefire hit when it debuted on ABC in the 2020-2021 season, with a recipe for success including TV veteran (and ABC familiar face) Katey Sagal as star, a strong supporting cast, and Grey's Anatomy/Station 19 boss Krista Vernoff on board as showrunner. So it came as a shocker when the show was cancelled after just five episodes, but the series finale added some sweetness to the bitter by letting Rebel and Co. get the win they deserved. And in honor of the finale, Sagal shared a sweet message with fans.
Katey Sagal took to Twitter on the night of the series finale with a pair of posts that acknowledge the fans who have watched all along and who threw their support behind the effort to save Rebel from its cancellation. She posted her first message during the first of two episodes of the night, writing:
When the series finale aired on June 10, there was no sign that the #SaveRebel petition has succeeded in Rebel scoring a renewal or being rescued by another network or platform. The petition from Change.org has accumulated nearly 70,000 digital signatures at the time of writing, and I wouldn't be surprised if it hits the goal of 75,000 signatures in the days to come following the series finale.
That's not to say that hitting the goal would result in a save, but the impassioned response clearly touched Katey Sagal in light of the disappointing cancellation. While Rebel may not have accumulated the kind of audience that ABC was looking for in order to score a renewal for Season 2, there was a devoted following who interacted with Sagal on a weekly basis, and Sagal hit Twitter after the finale finished airing with another message:
Katey Sagal's messages were fairly short, but sweet, in how she took the time to directly address fans for their support, already knowing that the support wasn't enough to save Rebel. That said, her message shortly after news of the cancellation broke back in May was much wordier, commenting on the "shock" and "heartbreak" of the "abrupt announcement that there would be no Season 2." She also called out ABC for a "reversal of support" that had the Rebel team "scratching our heads."
The Rebel star continued to use Instagram to interact with fans and support the push for the show to be saved, including posting a screenshot of an article about her protesting the cancellation, several updates about how many signatures the petition had gotten, and more. Even if the Season 1 finale truly does prove to be the end and Rebel doesn't land a second life elsewhere, fans can at least be confident that Katey Sagal saw and appreciated their efforts.
If you're in the mood to watch or rewatch Rebel, you can find the full first season (and therefore full series) streaming on Hulu now. As for shows that are on the way, our 2021 summer TV premiere schedule can help you find some to try out.
