Anne With An E is an adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 play Anne of Green Gables. From the second season the series was renamed with the name we all know. This production received recognition from the Canadian Screen Award, awarding the series for two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018, as the best drama series. Following the cancellation after its third season, excited fans have been waiting for a renewal that has yet to come out.
With no warning or prior to this unfortunate demise, fans were understandably distraught. Despite the statement expressing the tentative hope that the final season “brings a satisfying conclusion to Anne’s journey”, the show’s devoted fanbase felt otherwise and immediately criticized the cancellation.
The petition “Renew Anne With An E for Season 4!” It was created shortly after the cancellation of Anne with An E in the hope that Netflix would renew the program and already has millions of signatures online, with the dream of all fans who want its return (yes, it is still collecting signatures). However, despite fans campaigning tirelessly for a renewal, it doesn’t seem like CBC or Netflix will waver in their decision to cancel the show; both sides of the argument are resolute in their determination.
Fans have come to know and love Anne with an E for her unflinching focus on current issues surrounding gender, race, class, and sexuality. Through a 19th century lens, the show deals with issues such as queer identity, racial discrimination, sexual assault, and the historical treatment of indigenous people.
The third season strengthened the show’s focus on challenging issues by depicting a horrific part of indigenous history: the Canadian residential school system. In these boarding schools, indigenous children were forcibly separated from their parents to be “re-educated” through abuse. The open ending of the story about Ka’kwet, a Mi’kmaq girl and Anne’s friend who is taken away to a residential school, is one of the main reasons fans want a fourth season of Anne with an E.
Does all this seem little? It is not. In addition to these points, Anne With An E not only encourages inclusion by focusing on social issues, but also offers diversity both on and off camera. If not, it would only be a comparison to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s original “Anne of Green Gables” book series, where the characters were all white and presumably straight.
