These days, the drama that surrounds your favorite TV shows can still continue even after networks pull the plug—all thanks to the power of social media.

Back before fans used Twitter and Facebook to resurrect their favorite programs, Jericho viewers in 2007 sent over 20 tons of peanuts to CBS in a bid to save the show from ending. Although the nuttiest thing about that whole story is the fact it worked, this just goes to show how passionate fandoms can be. If anything, protests have only grown louder in recent years as social media continues to grow.

Just last year, The Wrap conducted research to determine whether there’s a direct correlation between the amount of Twitter mentions that a show receives following its cancelation and the speed at which it’s potentially revived. In the article, a number of programs with strong LGBTQ content were featured and this is no coincidence. Not only are queer-friendly programs like Sense8 and Everything Sucks! often the first to be canned, but they’re also the ones that usually attract the most ardent fans.

One of the latest success stories is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Highly praised for its intersectional representation of race and sexual orientation, Fox’s police comedy was canceled for a total of 36 hours last year before NBC decided to pick the show up for a sixth season. Public support from stars like Mark Hamill and Lin-Manuel Miranda certainly didn’t hurt, but they were just two voices in a sea of 1.4 million who protested the demise of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and helped it avoid early retirement.

#SaveB99 isn’t the only hashtag campaign to find success either. Fans were devastated when Netflix pulled the plug on Sense8 after just two seasons, but clusters worldwide “rose up like the fist of Sun” and fought back with hashtags such as #IAmAlsoAWe, amassing more than 500,000 signatures in total.

It’s rather fitting that a show which draws on the unified strength of strangers would inspire people worldwide to protest in such a way. Although a new season was never commissioned in full, it was still satisfying to see various plot threads wrapped up in one more installment that culminated with a beautiful trans wedding.

Despite the inclusive message of Sense8, trans star Jamie Clayton once told NewNowNext that most of the negativity she received from detractors was inspired by the same-sex romances featured on the show and not the fighting or violence. Progress continues to move forward for LGBTQ representation on screen, but instances like this make it clear that we still have a long way to go. That’s why queer fanbases in particular are so passionate about shows that portray our shared experiences in such an authentic way.

Just take one look at Shadowhunters. As a show that represents not only various aspects of the LGBTQ community but other minorities, too, the Freeform hit has inspired one of the most fierce fandoms of all because of the way it speaks to so many marginalized people. Through the power of the #SaveShadowhunters hashtag, fans have raised over $23,000 for a Trevor Project charity campaign and the program even managed to beat mainstream fare like This Is Us at the People’s Choice Awards last year. Katherine McNamara took home the title of Female TV Star as a write-in finalist, due to insane fan dedication.

Even shows that continue to run with no end in sight can inspire hashtag campaigns that strive for queer representation. Fans are still shipping ‘Sanvers’ on Supergirl even though Maggie Sawyer left the show over a year ago and plenty of viewers lament the lack of ‘Choni’ on their screens in Riverdale these days, particularly in Season 3.

In fairness, it’s not just LGBTQ cancelations that strike a spark with viewers, but respectful depictions of the queer experience are all too rare and that’s why fans fight extra hard when these shows are taken from us.

Who else but Nomi Marks could normalize trans identity while also inspiring the trans community to kick ass and feel confident in their own skin? Who else but Rosa Diaz could take a stand against bisexual erasure and defy stereotypes while doing it? And who else but Kate Messner could center female queerness with such wide-eyed innocence?

It’s been a year since Kate made her debut on the first and only season of Everything Sucks!, yet not a day goes by without someone tweeting the hashtag #RenewEverythingSucks at Netflix on Twitter. Although ending the show on such a huge cliffhanger certainly didn’t help matters, the outrage mostly comes from a place of loss.

It’s no stretch to suggest that openly queer characters like Nomi, Rosa, and Kate can help save lives. That’s why it’s up to us as a community to keep fighting for inclusion. When you next see a LGBTQ-friendly show on the chopping block, rise up “like the fist of Sun” and do everything you can to save it, whether that involves signing a petition or sending peanuts to strangers. It really is worth it.