In February 2024, Nic became a subject of controversy after he posted a mini comic on Twitter where he tries to explain that the reason why animated shows keep getting cancelled is because of people not supporting them legally (whether it's watching the show(s) by official means or buying official merchandise), and shames people who pirate shows.[1] However, the comic was met with immense backlash, not just from regular users, but also people working in the industry, such as Matt Braly (creator of Amphibia) and Olan Rogers (creator of Final Space) to name a few. They explain that the real problem is the companies producing the shows, as their lack of support and promotion are the reasons why their viewership numbers are so low, and that people outside of the US have to resort to piracy in order to watch shows that are not legally accessible to them.[2] Adding onto this, several show creators, including Rogers, have stated that they themselves had to resort to piracy in order to access their own shows due to the companies removing them from either their streaming services or digital media marketplaces, and encourage their fans to do the same in order to prevent them from being declared lost media.[3]
↑Rogers, Olan [@OlanRogers] (Feb 26, 2024). [https://www.x.com/OlanRogers/status/1761921875855212982 "This not the viewers fault. Never was, never is. In Final Space’s case it was caught in the gears of two mergers with a network struggling to get out of debt. Really all of this tax write off stuff is kind of Netflix’s fault but not on purpose. Netflix began spending so much money trying to attract talent that every other networks felt like that had to spend that much to stay competitive. When Netflix lost subscribers the house of cards fell. That model didn’t work. So they began to look for cost savings and animation was the first thing to go. Really, the metrics for a “hit” show are so bonkers today now that most shows only get one season now.
Did people watching it illegally hurt the show? Not enough for it to make a difference and in many cases it helped the show find a bigger audience.
As someone who had his show canceled then erased. Never once did I feel like it was the fans fault. In fact because it was my first show I felt like I was the one failing them. And I worked myself into the ground fighting to keep that show alive. I ran the social media account and edited almost every trailer for two seasons/three years, never got one cent for any of it. It was a dream that turned into a nightmare. The sad thing, all the extra work I did, I don’t think the network even cared or noticed. Would I do it again if I had the chance. Hell yeah, I would. I loved that show but also I was making it for the people who looked forwarded to a new episode every week.
I will say this, pirate the crap out of Final Space, share it on Dropbox’s and google drives. A lot of people worked on that and I think more than anything they don’t want it to be forgotten. The fans of my show like most shows are some of the most passionate people I’ve ever seen. It’s back to back for life! 🤜🤛"] (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2025-06-15 – via X (formerly Twitter).
