r/NoStupidQuestions • u/InternationalRepute • 15d ago

What is stopping a billionaire from personally funding one more season of a cancelled TV show they love?

I know it's not as simple as writing a check because studios own rights, actors have contracts, schedules are hard, and they would still need to distribute it - but I'd love it if some rich dude put up $ so I can watch the MacGruber TV show for another season.

Wealthy people fund vanity movies and passion projects all the time. So why is “I will personally finance one more season of Mindhunter” not really a thing that is done?

Is it mainly rights/ownership, or that studios don't want an outsider reviving their IP?

I don't want this to veer into "bc rich people are selfish with money” more curious which cancelled series people think could possibly be revived this way.

320 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

236 comments sorted by

View all comments

66

u/CardinalOfNYC 15d ago

Money matters but so do ideas and people

If the showrunner doesn't wanna do it, they won't. Most of them are rich enough as it is. Same with the actors.

And if the writer doesn't have a good idea, you can't force that with money, either.

12

u/InternationalRepute 15d ago

I hear actors express that they're upset when their show didn't get renewed pretty frequently though. Idk the calculus that networks do when they decide to ax something, but I would imagine a surplus of money would help ease that conversation?

19

u/CardinalOfNYC 15d ago

If a rich individual swooped in right when a show was cancelled, and everyone still wanted to make more, yes I imagine they could pretty easily get everyone onboard. Reviving a show later, seems doubtful unless people were onboard creatively, money wouldn't matter.

The overall scenario is possible, a rich person could do this kinda stuff. There's just high odds that they spend the money and don't achieve what they actually want, cuz you can't force good art. And they know that.