Twitter Trending Events

The cult following of *Infinity Train*, combined with the lack of promotion by Cartoon Network and HBO Max, has led to multiple Twitter events focused on getting the series to the top of Twitter's Trending section.

## Background

Following the release of Book Three - Cult of the Conductor in August 2020, series creator Owen Dennis made repeated allusions to the possibility of the show ending, noting the dark nature of Book 3 was making executives at Warner Bros. uncomfortable with continuing the series. Dennis noted the writers had outlined enough stories for eight books: he wished the series to run eight seasons in a reference to the infinity symbol. However, he confirmed the series was no longer in active production and most of the team had been laid off. This led to multiple fan campaigns over the course of the next several months, operating under the hashtag "RenewInfinityTrain." These hashtags succeeded in reaching the trending section of Twitter.

March 2021 saw the announcement of Book Four - Duet, with the initial assumption being this was a result of the fan efforts. However, Dennis subsequently revealed that Book 4 had actually been in production nearly a year beforehand, and that it was in fact the last season the team worked on before they learned the show would not be renewed. In interviews following the release of Book 4 he offered information about the planned further books, including the reveal that Book 5 was planned to be a film about Amelia's takeover, but it was not picked up by HBO Max due to lacking a "child entry point."

This led to a subsequent fan effort to get *Infinity Train* trending on a much wider scale, with the intention of getting it to the top spot on Twitter's trending section and hopefully getting the final four seasons greenlit. The crew supported these efforts, participating in the trend alongside fans by talking about the series and sharing their fanart.

## Twitter Trends

### #Finishinfinitytrain

Out of the several Twitter trends advocating for the shows renewal "#FinishInfinityTrain" from April 29th, 2021 is the most prominent one. Creator of the show Owen Dennis' avid participation in the fan event helped popularize and spread more awareness. Dennis offered prizes for a select few random participants depending on what level the hashtag "FinishInfinityTrain" reached. As a treat for everyone, a mock-up for Book 5 would be shared if the hashtag reached #1 on trending. A few other companies and artists like @the\_stylophone company helped by added more prizes into the pool.

To everyone's amazement, "#FinishInfinityTrain" reached the top spot nearly immediately, the tag was already on trending before the event was suppose to start. It remained at number 1 on trending for half a day and reached over 300k tweets, beating - among other topics - the NFL Draft and President Biden's joint session of Congress from the previous night. Because of the event, "Infinity Train" was trending on Tumblr as well. On May 8, 2021, Owen Dennis tweeted a mock up still from Book Five after the giveaway prizes were mailed to the winners.

### Others

* "Renew Infinity Train" (March 21st, 2021)
* Book 2 DVD (May 29th, 2021)
* #InfinitytrainHBOmax (June 27th, 2021)
* Four More Stops (August 5th, 2021)
* Gallery Nucleus (September 25th, 2021)
* #InfinityTrainDuetAnniversary (April 15th, 2022)
* #GiveBackInfinityTrain (September 10th, 2022)

## References

1. ↑ Owen Dennis's post about the April 29th trend event.
2. ↑ TRAFON's tweet.
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/OweeeeenDennis/status/1391030879263264769