Lucifer is one of those feel-good TV resurrection stories that makes you happy to be a fan. The show, about what happens when Lucifer (Tom Ellis) abandons his throne in hell to operate a nightclub in L.A., ran for three seasons on Fox, until the network lived up to its reputation and cancelled it. But Lucifer fans are a passionate bunch, and lobbied on behalf of the show so loudly that Netflix was convinced to bring it back for a fourth season.
At the time, Ellis called the #SaveLucifer fan campaign “nothing short of ridiculously overwhelming…I’ve done press in various parts of the world, and I’m fully aware that this show is much more popular than what it had seemed to be on Fox…I just wasn’t ready this tsunami of love that came with it.”
But now, things seem shaky again. After a successful fourth season on Netflix, the show is due to come back for a fifth, although we’re not sure when that will air. Originally, that was intended to be the “final” season, but recently, it seemed like Netflix and the Lucifer team were gearing up for a sixth, with Netflix inking deals with showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson as well as with most of the cast members, and with Ellis himself. You can’t do Lucifer without Lucifer, after all.
But hold up. TV Line is now reporting that the sixth season is in danger between Ellis and Netflix can’t come to an agreement about the actor’s pay raise, with him reportedly rejecting the studio’s latest offer. “Everyone wants Tom to be happy,” said an insider. “But there’s a limit, and it’s been reached.”
So this means that either the earlier Netflix-Ellis deal wasn’t as finalized as we thought, or he’s willing to be in breach of contract if he doesn’t get more money. Either way, it’d be a shame for Lucifer fans to see their show go out like this after they fought so hard to save it. However, I’ll caution that we don’t know all the details, so anyone thinking of going ham against Netflix or Ellis just yet can probably hold off.
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