Last week, DirecTV struck a pretty radical deal with NBC regarding Friday Night Lights. The satellite network will retain the rights to air new episodes of the drama first, followed by repeat viewings later on NBC.

This has obviously opened a new door for many other programs that developed passionate followings but less-than-stellar ratings…specifically, CBS’ Jericho. Well, according to an article in yesterday’s New York Times, the ball could already be rolling on just such a deal.

According to “two people briefed on the talks who requested anonymity”, Comcast has been in talks with CBS Paramount Network Television, who owns Jericho, to establish a similar deal, which would have the post-apocalyptic drama airing first exclusively on the cable network, followed by a later run on CBS.

So, Jericho continues to hang on by a thread for a little longer. I would love to see a deal like this, for a lot of reasons. For one thing, it would be nice to have Jericho back…I feel like this mini-season was just as good, if not better in parts, than the first season. Also, this move would continue to establish a trend that could spell hope for a lot of quality shows in the future that just can’t seem to find a niche.

Why couldn’t this have been around for Studio 60?