Kevin Martin, left, takes the Big Brother Canada Season 5 crown as host Arisa Cox looks on in an undated handout photo.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Global TV *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Republished June 06, 2017 - 1:40 PM
Original Publication Date June 06, 2017 - 12:59 PM
TORONTO - Fans of "Big Brother Canada" are hoping to save the reality TV series from cancellation.
Viewers hopped on social media to show their support after host Arisa Cox confirmed the Canadian edition of the reality franchise is on hiatus and won't return to Global TV for the 2018 season.
Cox tweeted her love to the "BB fam" and thanked them for supporting the show through its five seasons.
While it's not officially cancelled yet, being put on hiatus often marks the first step toward the end of a series.
Singing competition series "Canadian Idol" was put on hiatus after six seasons but was never brought back on CTV.
Viewers were swift to react to the "Big Brother Canada" news with an online petition and posts on Facebook and Twitter urging Global reconsider its decision.
Past Big Brother houseguests also dove into the conversation.
Ramsey Aburaneh, who exited season 4 when his father suffered a heart attack, urged fans on Twitter to "rally the troops" with the hashtag #SaveBBCAN.
Brittnee Blair, who formed the divisive alliance "the Fembots" on season 3, thanked everyone involved with the production of the show.
"You changed my life and I will never forget it," she tweeted.
A representative for Global TV confirmed the series is on hiatus and said that further details would be "announced at a later date."
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Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misstated when cast member Ramsey Aburaneh appeared on the show.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017