On Monday, Netflix announced that it was cancelling one of its original series, “Anne With an E.” Fans everywhere are outraged, and rightly so. Time and time again, Netflix continues to cancel their own original series suddenly, and with little to no explanation at all. This is no different in the case of “Anne With an E”.

The show is based upon the classic novel series Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, in which a young, redheaded orphan named Anne is adopted by a brother and sister. However, it is packed with its own twists and reimagined plots. While there are many similarities, “Anne With an E” provides so much more perspective of common issues that still exist today.

Not only does it bring light to racism, it also portrays the mistreatment of the indigenous people of North America that was at one point in time normalized. It showcases the difficulties and discrimination that people of color had to face in everyday life in the 1800s, and even now. It has LGBT representation, and it has a strong set of characters that also stood up for women’s rights. It stresses the importance of friendships and family, and shows viewers that family truly is what you make it, for there is no such thing as a “perfect family.” It teaches acceptance – not only towards others, but to oneself too. “Anne With an E” is able to showcase countless critical life lessons, and it preaches the importance of being unique. Now, why would Netflix want to dispose of a series with such importance like this? That remains a mystery.

What doesn’t remain a mystery is the effect that the cancelation had on the viewers. People are angry, and they are not afraid to show it. Already, Netflix has received a lot of backlash for cancelling the series. Fans are desperate for a second chance at saving the beloved series, and have even created a hashtag – #renewannwithane. In only twelve hours, it rose to #20 trending worldwide, and there are already over two million tweets with the hashtag. 

Personally, I feel that Netflix has made an incredible mistake. This show is incredibly important and should not be wasted. Not only has it opened my mind about issues that I had almost no knowledge about, it has helped me to become a better person. It has taught me that being yourself is the best thing that you can possibly be, and it has shown me just how important it is to stand up for what you believe in. With “Anne With an E” I have found peace in the gorgeous cinematography, and have learned to appreciate the little things around me that I rarely noticed before. Most importantly, I believe that shows like this are very important to have in our society today. In this day and age, it is too easy to get caught up in drama or social media, and having a unique show that takes us back to simpler times is a very refreshing thing to see. If given the chance, I truly feel that “Anne with an E” could change the world.