I wonder if they’ll bring back Gerald McRaney. Naaaah. But Jericho’s coming back.
For weeks, “Jericho” junkies have been firing e-mails (effectively shutting down InBoxes at CBS and this newspaper), signing petitions and sending bags of nuts to CBS headquarters in protest.
The assault seems to have worked, “Jericho” creator and executive producer Carol Barbee said Tuesday. CBS executives are in discussions with the show’s producers and actors to resuscitate the show — killed just last month — for an eight-episode run in mid-season.
“The idea would not be to bring it for eight and out, but to bring it back for eight with the hope that it would keep going,” Barbee said. “They’re making deals with the actors and there’s other logistical stuff to work out too. ‘Swingtown’ [a new drama] was supposed to take over the same stages so it’s a lot about the logistics of how to work out a schedule that works for all of us.”
Looks like they’re starting to notice the online TV-watchers.
“I really think that what has been learned here is that networks are going to have to look at numbers and who is watching their show and who is downloading their show in a different way from here on out. I think they have to understand that the Nielsens are not telling the story anymore and that the 18-49 demographic they’re all so keen on is online and that’s how increasingly they are getting their news and entertainment.”
Since the fan revolt began, “Jericho” viewers have insisted they also would not be satisfied with a TV movie or online re-cap that told them how the “Jericho” story ends.
If the actors sign on the dotted line — and those deals should be in place in the next day or two — Barbee said “Jericho” junkies will get their way.
I can’t really explain why I like this show. I just do. A lot. Yes, the topic is depressing—a post-nuclear holocaust America—but the show, overall, is not depressing. It’s about people dealing, and learning how to survive.
Of course, every time I see it, I tell myself: You really do have to learn how to shoot and buy a gun.
Thanks for this news. At first I figured it was something to do with the walls coming down in Israel, an obvious thought when it comes from you. It was so stupid of CBS to drop it without at least trying to show it against something other than American Idol, especially with how well it did during the first half season.