Project Save Queer Shows – Teenage Bounty Hunters

By starrymag | December 6, 2020

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) When you were coming together as a group, what was your main focus in forming?

 

A) One of our team members tweeted out something relating to forming a group to help bring queer shows to attention. Interested participants then messaged that team member and, eventually, our team was formed. Our main focus was to, hopefully, bring media attention to shows that associate with queer representation and collaborate with influencers to have an understanding regarding their thoughts towards certain situations that relate to TV shows with queer representation that are disproportionately cancelled . 

Our main focus when creating this group was to bring attention to the fact that so many shows containing positive LGBT representation have been cancelled recently by major streaming platforms. It is so important that members of the community are able to see themselves on screen and have strong, well written characters they feel they can relate to. To feel included in the cultural conversion on screen has value beyond words and showing these realistic stories serve to reflect the society we live in today. We hope to build a platform where we can help bring shows that share an authentic queer experience the exposure and recognition that they deserve. 

 

Q) What is it about “Teenage Bounty Hunters” that has really resonated with each of you and made saving it a call to action for you?

 

A) The whole show brought comfort and the queer storyline also drew us in. We joined the fandom and the cast was really amazing too. For each of us, it was one of the only shows that we were really connected to. So, when we heard about the cancellation, we knew we had to do something. It was too early to lose the show.

The show portrayed topical subjects in a comedic and relatable way; while similar messages from other television shows and movies can seem preachy, “Teenage Bounty Hunters” shares that it’s okay to make mistakes and that learning from them will only help you grow as a person. There are qualities in every character that have resonated with or inspired us and, despite being fictional with an unrealistic premise (a set of twins accidentally find themselves working as bounty hunters while balancing high school commitments and interpersonal relationships), the show feels very true to life. “Teenage Bounty Hunters” is far more than just a television show, it’s inspired change in the real world and created a vivacious and loving community surrounding it. Saving it is a call to action for all of these reasons and so many more – including the fact that the season ended on a huge cliffhanger with a number of loose ends and no one truly being happy. These characters deserve to finish telling their stories and find happiness or contentment in some form before the series reaches a natural end.

Diandra: Growing up as a lesbian in the South, going to private Catholic school and being heavily involved with my school and the church, I felt like April (Devon Hales) was really telling my story. Not only did Devon Hales’s portrayal of the character feel extremely authentic, it was as if Kathleen Jordan (creator, writer, co-executive producer) had been alongside me during these formative years and was sharing my experiences with the world. The show even inspired me to reach out to a childhood friend and work through our falling out from over a decade ago!

 

Q) You started with having people on Twitter respond to a survey which included personal data, questions about “Teenage Bounty Hunters,” as well as questions about other LGBT series.  What was your intent behind gaining this information?

 

A) We really wanted to get to know the fan community and we wanted to have some data to be able to include in the presentation that we made to include in our renewal tweets. Some of the questions about other series were included because we wanted to know what we could use as points of comparison when it came to similar campaigns run in the past.

 

Q) What kind of data and insight did the survey you put together offer from the responses?

 

A) The data offered from our surveys shows the great diversity in the “Teenage Bounty Hunters” fans. It isn’t just one group of people from one walk of life. Everyone is unique and brings a different perspective as to why “Teenage Bounty Hunters” is important to them. The survey data also shows that even though the paths of life everyone is on are different, everyone has one thing that unifies them.

We wanted to take an intersectional approach to our analysis to account for the multiple identities and spheres that each viewer inhabits within the world – not merely reducing viewers to their age, gender identity, sexuality or geographic location. We learned that 44% of our respondents were between eighteen years old and twenty-four years old and identified as female, yet all genders and ages were represented within the two hundred and ten respondents, as 14% of total respondents identified as questioning, non-binary, genderqueer or genderfluid. Similarly, we were able to learn that 43% of the respondents live in North America, 20% in South America and 23% in Europe; however, we had a number of respondents from Asia and Australia and even one from Africa! These responses allowed us to establish a baseline after the cancellation was announced to evaluate if and how the composition of fan demographics changes as the show and its renewal effort gain more popularity.

 

Q) Which information has been the most beneficial and how do you really plan to take this data and use it for your focus?

 

A) For us, the information that’s been most beneficial is the range of ages we got from the survey. It really showed the “Teenage Bounty Hunters” wasn’t just a show for a certain age group and that it mattered to many different people. We may use this in the future to ask people in different age groups how this show has compared to other shows with women empowerment and LGBTQ+ representation. Same with the data of where in the world.

The most beneficial information we’ve gathered are those that go beyond what Netflix knows about each user – namely their geographical location and their age. In this modern age information such as gender identity and sexuality are equally important, especially when streaming services are creating original content that aims to address the interests of their current subscribers while attempting to draw new ones in. It is uncertain who Netflix believed their target audience for “Teenage Bounty Hunters” was, but our baseline survey revealed that nearly 25% of respondents were within the majority age group (18-24 years old) and identified as lesbian or gay (of nearly 47% of total respondents identifying as lesbian or gay). Likewise, a majority of the bisexual respondents were aged between 18 and 24, representing 17% of the total (of almost 31% of all respondents identifying as bisexual). 

We plan to focus on these intersectionalities of identity to provide a more holistic representation of the viewers of “Teenage Bounty Hunters” and, ultimately, as many queer shows as possible with hopes that it will illuminate the importance of queer representation in popular media and why it should be considered valuable rather than obligatory when developing both exclusive content for streaming platforms and greenlighting television shows and movies that are available on mainstream networks.

 

Q) What do you hope to accomplish with this project and what feedback have you received so far from your efforts?

 

A) We hope to show people how important it is to have proper queer representation in media, as well as the possibility of saving LGBTQ+ shows. So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and we’re so grateful for everyone’s support.

Our ultimate goal with this project is to get the show back however we can. Our collaborations so far have been fruitful and we’re eager to see what’s to come with the momentum we’ve built within the past week. The feedback we’ve received thus far has been very positive; the fans, cast and media have advocated for the cause and are enthusiastic about our future plans. We interviewed with The Ben, Rob, and Robbo Show, an online streaming show in Australia a few weeks ago and they were encouraging and supportive of our project. Being able to gain international attention and reach a new audience was valuable, as many of their viewers expressed an interest in watching the show! 

 

Q) What are some of the initiatives that you have planned that you can talk about for this particular project? 

 

A) We’re currently working on a page to put all of the responses that we got from the survey we conducted asking what “Teenage Bounty Hunters” means to the fans. We also have a potentially big project planned, but details are limited due to the confidentiality and privacy regarding other people involved.

We have begun a collaboration with the Renew TBH team (@renew_TBH on Twitter), who began the fight for the show to get another season. While it has just begun, we are extremely excited to work with them and support and promote their current initiatives. 

With more attention than ever being drawn to the show, we want to release an updated version of the poll in hopes of getting thousands of respondents. Having data with a significant sample size to bring to networks and platforms gives them another reason to try to acquire the show; from our numbers, they can draw projections and brainstorm promotional strategies. We’re trying to combine the show’s impressive statistics with the humanity of the cast, crew and fans to appeal to the ethos, logos and pathos of the media, general public and the hopeful future home of “Teenage Bounty Hunters,” wherever that may be. 

 

Q) Beyond “Teenage Bounty Hunters,” what’s your next steps to keep the movement moving forward?  Is it just this show or do you have plans to keep the fight going?

 

A) Currently, our focus is “Teenage Bounty Hunters” as it recently got cancelled, but in the future we expect to branch out and continue the fight for other shows. 

Fortunately, the fight is far from over. We are dedicating all of our efforts and resources to “Teenage Bounty Hunters” for the foreseeable future, but once this project is completed we’ll focus our energy on another show. A few of our followers have already begun suggesting other programs to advocate for, including” Wynonna Earp.” Representation is so important and queer female shows continue to be disproportionally cancelled. This suggests a larger systemic issue that goes beyond analytics and finances and our fight aims to address this at the global level. Networks and streaming services should be transparent about the reasons behind cancelling these shows, rather than leave the audience wondering what went wrong and what they could have done before it was too late. Is it because they are women-led, because they highlight POC or because they’re showcasing LGBTQ+ characters? I’m confident that the momentum we build from this fight and the knowledge we gain will be extremely advantageous and informative for how we approach our next project.

 

Q) What kind of further additional support are you looking for from various fandoms and community members?

 

A) We’re trying to draw attention to the show, so we just recommend watching it. If even a shred of it resonated with you, share it with a friend or family member, even simply an acquaintance. Use it as a means of connection, of education, of joy! The fandom is extremely welcoming, and we’re excited to meet new fans of the show every day. To those in other fandoms, we could use your support and joining the fight for “Teenage Bounty Hunters” allows us to work toward keeping your favorite show on the air in the future. Our efforts are strongest when working as a cohesive unit, and that is when we can affect the biggest change!

 

Q) Is there anything else you’d like to let everyone know about Project Save Queer Shows?

 

A) PSQS is a fan organized group and we strive to do everything we can to help save queer shows.

Our aim is to support positive queer representation in the media, be it in the form of a reoccurring couple in a show to programs with LGBTQ+ main characters; to currently airing shows that are in jeopardy of being cancelled to those that haven’t been renewed. We’re open to suggestions and are always available on Twitter (@ProjSQS).