Family guy ran for a few seasons and was cancelled. The first DVDs sold SO MANY COPIES and petitions (mostly the DVD sales) that it was renegotiated and we got more seasons.
Family Guy is one of the first shows ever renewed years after it ended from DVD sales.
MacFarlane conceived the idea for the Family Guy in 1997, developing it out of his two short films. MacFarlane's shorts caught the attention of Fox, who gave him $50,000 to make a pilot. McFarlane completed the 11 minute pilot after six months of hand animation. Pleased with the pilot, Fox gave the green light to the Family Guy series.[7] Although Fox initially announced Family Guy's cancellation following the second season, Fox decided to make a third season,[8][9] after which they canceled the series in early 2002. However, reruns on Adult Swim drove up interest in the show, and its DVD releases did quite well, selling over 2.2 million copies in one year, which renewed network interest.[10] Family Guy returned to production in 2004, marking the first revival of a television show based on DVD sales.[11][12] Fox president Gail Berman said that it was one of her most difficult decisions to cancel the show, and was therefore happy it would return.[13] The show celebrated its official 100th episode during its sixth season in November 2007, resulting in the show's syndication.[14] The show is contracted to continue producing episodes until 2012.[15]
Another example is THE BIG-O. The show aired in America and ended on a cliffhanger that outraged people. Massive petitions and e-mails were sent and after 2 years, Cartoon network paid to have a second season. The Big-O had been finished in Japan and was over with. But American fans got a new season.
The Big O premiered on 13 October 1999 on WOWOW. When the production staff was informed the series would be shortened to thirteen episodes, the writers decided to end it with a cliffhanger, hoping the next 13 episodes would be picked up.[7] In April 2001, The Big O premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami lineup.[8]
Second season
The series garnered positive fan response internationally that resulted in a second season co-produced by Cartoon Network, Sunrise, and Bandai Visual. Season two premiered on Japan's SUN-TV on January 2003, with the American premiere taking place seven months later in the Adult Swim lineup.[7][9]
So it is possible but it rarely works.