Jericho: Cancelled CBS Series to Return Midseason?

It’s being reported that CBS is currently in negotiations with the cast and producers of the cancelled series Jericho to revive it for midseason. Right now, it’s sounding like a sophomore year would be made up of only eight episodes but that’s certainly far more than what was expected.

As fans of the Skeet Ulrich series know all too well, the series was cut short a few weeks ago after the conclusion of its first year. The season ended in a cliffhanger and fans were not pleased. They have mounted a huge online campaign and, aside from signing the usual petitions, have barraged the network with phone calls, letters, emails and, to date, almost 40,000 pounds of nuts. “Nuts” refers to a battle cry Ulrich’s character yelled to oncoming attackers. CBS made a statement that they were working to find a way to wrap up the series but fans have kept the protests coming.

Final word from CBS should come down very soon — no doubt the network is running out of storage space for all of those boxes of nuts. Jericho creator and executive producer Carol Barbee said, “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. They’re making deals with the actors and there’s other logistical stuff to work out too. Swingtown [a new drama series] was supposed to take over the same [sound] stages so it’s a lot about the logistics of how to work out a schedule that works for all of us.”

Talks are under way with castmembers of Jericho to return. The network reportedly has options on all of the actors, but the deals need to be modified to reflect the timing and size of the episode order. Due to budget reductions, some actors may not return.

One thing’s fairly certain. You won’t be seeing Gerald McRaney’s character returning from the dead. He was reportedly not happy on the series and asked to leave prior to the cancellation. He prefers to focus on his work on Deadwood and presumably hopes to be part of the pair of upcoming HBO films. A personal representative for the actor said, “Gerald is moving on. He’s thrilled that HBO has submitted him for Emmy consideration for Deadwood, in which he appeared as publisher George Hearst. Although he enjoyed working with the people at Jericho, the Deadwood experience was one of the best of his entire professional career.”

If Jericho does return for another season, it’s likely that a DVD set of the first season is imminent — a September date is rumored. If a second season of Jericho performs well, could a third season be far behind? No doubt CBS will be watching and planning for that contingency very carefully.

Lots of show supporters have mounted campaigns over the years, mostly with limited or no success. If this campaign actually works and the network returns Jericho, it gives hope to many fans of other cancelled shows. Speak loud enough and long enough and you will be heard. Stay tuned!