Princess Isabella has always been one to step outside the damsel in distress archetype and don her armor. Similarly, the actor that plays her, Karen David, is fighting the good fight to save her show. When it was announced over a week ago that Galavant would not be returning to ABC, the loyal fans banded together, hoping true love might bring it back to life. They’ve taken to twitter en masse, contacting the actors, ABC, and other networks with the hashtag #MoreGalavant. A petition to save the show has already garnered more than 10,000 signatures. Many actors, including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Dave Prowse (the man behind the Darth Vader mask) have also tweeted their support of the show.
And an avid fan, @gemma27, requested that Paste interview Karen David. And we answered, “As you wish.” We caught up with David to talk about how she learned about the show’s cancellation, and what fans can do to join in on the #MoreGalavant movement.
Paste Magazine: The fans have really been rallying behind the show.
Karen David: It’s quite a beautiful thing to witness, to see all these people from all over the world showing their love. Tim [Omundson] and I were on the phone the other day, completely in awe of what is transpiring before our eyes. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful and overwhelmed we are by everyone’s love and support.
Paste: If you couldn’t tell by my reviews, I’m a huge fan of the show. From the acting, to Dan Fogelman’s writing, Alan Menken and Glenn Slater’s music—the show is just fantastic. Why you think fans have become so obsessed?
David: It’s such a unique and special show, there’s really nothing like it on television right now. The one thing we’re all so proud of is that it unifies people from all over the world, from all walks of life, from different age groups. It unites the whole family together to watch good quality television that makes people want to laugh, sing out loud, be silly. And to tap into your inner child—your innocence. Somehow between Alan and Glenn’s magical music, and Dan’s wit and our writing team, it’s brought out the Disney kid in everyone.
Paste: How did you take the news about the show being canceled?
David: Every show gets canceled at some point—you just hope it’s later rather than sooner. For us, we all know that these things happen, but with our show, everyone feels that it deserves another home. And who knows what will happen? The fans are giving us the best possible chance at trying to find a new home. And if it happens, great. And if it doesn’t—that’s alright. Because what we have is the camaraderie and the community of one hell of a fandom that will live on. I have a feeling, like Princess Bride, that this show is going to be discovered by more and more people. Mark Hamill is a huge, huge fan of the show, and ever since he’s been tweeting his support and love for the show, we’ve had so many more new fans that have come in.
Paste: In my reviews, I’ve made many connections between Galavant and Princess Bride, Monty Python, even Game of thrones—I never made a Star Wars connection.
David: (laughs) When I saw Dave Prowse’s tweet, and I saw Darth Vader, I tweeted back, “In this one instance, I’m so grateful that the dark side has aligned forces with Luke Skywalker.” The force is definitely with us.
Paste: In what concrete way is the fans’ support helping to give the show a second chance?
David: This whole campaign started two weeks before ABC made their announcement. Since ABC announced the decision, this fan campaign multiplied. Fans were writing and sending messages to all of us, telling us, “We can’t just sit here idle, we have to do something.” When you receive those messages in numbers, you have to listen to them. I spoke with the gang about how we were all being inundated with messages, and we felt so lucky, that we had to embrace and encourage our fans. Once we started messaging the fans back, they had all these ideas. So I had them message me all the ideas, pooled them, and sent them out to everyone. I’ve been the middleman between fans. We started printing out the comments on the petition—we’ve printed out almost 2500 pages of signatures and comments from fans around the world, and we’re going to have many more pages to print, because the signatures are climbing every day. We’re putting a package together for our producers to take into their meetings. That way they have they have all the ammunition to show that Galavant is so cherished and loved by many.
Paste: The fans are pouring so much love and dedication to this campaign—it’s a full-on movement. What is one takeaway from this, regardless of the outcome?
David: We all want to tell the fans to look back on this moment as something to smile about, regardless of what happens. Be proud of what you’re doing, and let this be a lesson to all of us, that in life, no matter what it’s about—whether it’s a petition to save your show, or a dream to fulfill—let this be an example that if you believe in yourself, and you try, you’ve won. Everyone involved in Galavant, the cast, the crew, we’re cheering the fans on with love, respect, and gratitude for all that they’re doing. We have no expectations, but we’re having so much fun trying with them.
Want more Galavant? Here are ways you can help:
1. Tweet #MoreGalavant at Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
2. Sign the petition.
3. In the Netflix search bar, search for ‘Galavant.’
4. Watch it on Hulu, rate it, and click on the ads in between.
5. For more tips, check out David’s Facebook.
Madina Papadopoulos is a New York-based freelance writer, author and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.