Jericho: Cancelled TV Show Rises from the Ashes Once Again

It’s just possible that cancellation was a good thing for Jericho. When they heard that CBS was dumping the series after one season, thousands of dedicated fans banded together to convince the network to bring it back. Though the second season wasn’t a big success ratings-wise, the show’s fanbase had united and remained committed to the show. The CW’s decision to start airing repeats of Jericho on Sunday nights was likely inspired by fans’ ongoing support. Now, the Jericho story is set to continue in comic form and possibly a movie.

Jericho centers around a small Kansas town that struggles to come together after nuclear attacks leave the United States in a state of disaster and civil war. Skeet Ulrich stars as Jake Green, the mayor’s son, who helps to lead the community after the attacks. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Lennie James, Ashley Scott, Kenneth Mitchell, Brad Beyer, April Parker-Jones, Alicia Coppola, Pamela Reed, Bob Stephenson, Gerald McRaney, Richard Speight Jr., and Clare Carey.

When Jericho was cancelled for the second time, it seemed like that was the end of the story. Still, the producers and fans have refused to let the series die. A deal has now been struck with Devil’s Due Publishing (DDP) to create a new comic book series based on the TV show. Dan Shotz, one of Jericho’s executive producers, gives credit for this revival to the fans, saying that they’ve “driven us to find new and fresh ways to tell the Jericho story.”

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The plans are for the comic book series to pick up where the second season of Jericho left off. DDP President Josh Blaylock said, “We plan to give fans the story they’ve been craving. This is going to be epic stuff.”

Shotz added, “Josh Blaylock and the DDP team are great partners and have shown a true love for our show. We are so thrilled about this comic book series and the endless possibilities for the future of Jericho.” Joining Shotz in developing the comic series will be most of the original creative team, including Jon Turteltaub, Carol Barbee, Karim Zreik, and Jon Steinberg.

Fans may also get more Jericho as a movie is in the works as well. Turteltaub says it’s still in the development stages, but the plans are for it to be a much bigger production than the TV series. The story will likely standalone, so that new audience members wouldn’t have to be familiar with the background of series to the enjoy the movie. The intention is that the cast would return for the movie, but in this early stage, nothing has been confirmed as of yet.