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?

Well, it really was just a matter of time. Despite a stellar second season, Jericho has, once again, been shut down.

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler issued the following statement.

The March 25th episode of Jericho will be the series finale. Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more. We thank an engaged and spirited fan base for keeping the show alive this long, and an outstanding team of producers, cast and crew that went through creative hoops to deliver a compelling, high quality second season. We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try. We listened to our viewers, gave the series an opportunity to grow, and the producers put a great story on the screen. We’re proud of everyone’s efforts.

Word is that Carol Barbee is shopping the show on other networks, like Sci Fi or USA, but that’s just gossip.

I suppose you can blame CBS for failing to really market the show or put it in a decent timeslot, or the Neilsens for being a broken system…but the fact is, sometimes good shows just can’t find an audience. I’m sure we’ll see some kind of variation of the “Nuts” deal, but, does anyone really think that any kind of “Save Our Show” campaign will work for the same show twice?

Nothing huge to talk about in this post, but I did want to make a quick special reminder that Jericho returns to the airwaves tonight on CBS.

I did get a chance to take an early look at it, and let me tell you, it’s an amazing hour of television. In fact, it’s probably the best episode of the series. I highly urge you to check it out tonight.

I’m not exactly thrilled about CBS’s apparent lack of support for the show. Jericho received a lot of publicity during the whole “Nuts” campaign, and it would have been a great opportunity for the network to really put the show out there for people to get interested in. The least they could have done would have been to have put together a recap episode for the mulitudes who didn’t get into the first season. The fact that they didn’t makes me nervous about the future of the show.

For those of you who do want to get caught up on this amazing program, head on over to the Wikipedia entry or the show’s official wiki, and you can get up to date on the goings on of the first season.

If you missed the fantastic first season of Jericho, you’ll soon have the opportunity to catch up on it. SCIFI Channel has picked up the cable rerun rights for the post-apocalyptic drama. Beginning at 7/6c on Monday, February 11, the cable network will run a four-episode marathon of Jericho, which kicks off its second season on February 12. No word on what those episodes will be, exactly…I’m hoping that they’ll be enough to get people who missed out on the first season caught up before the second season premiere. The reruns will then air on Mondays at 10/9c on SCIFI.

In related news, exec producer Carol Barbee talked to SCI FI Wire about the possibilities of a third season for the show. “I’m just guessing here, but I would imagine that probably, they usually start to have an opinion around the third airing, so usually by then your fate can be sealed in terms of it not going well…They may wait another week or so if it is going well for us to order more.”

Now, I’ve had the opportunity to check out the first three episodes of Jericho, and let me tell you, if they pull in the audience that they deserve, then CBS has no choice but to renew it. I’ll save my proper review until the premiere rolls closer, but I’ll leave it at this…the first episode is not only just as good as last season, but it is actually a large improvement…and the two subsequent episodes are tremendous as well. If you tune into the premiere, I DARE you to not stick around for the full season.

So start getting the word out now. Tuesday, February 12 at 10/9c on CBS.

(Source: TV Guide and SCI FI Wire)

In what is becoming more and more common when any show with a medium-sized audience, fans of Journeyman are trying to save the show by sending Rice-A-Roni to NBC.

Of course, the idea comes from last years save Jericho campaign - which I’m sure was at least partially inspired by the save Enterprise campaign from a few years ago (where fans literally tried to pay for a new season out of their own pockets).

If this becomes a regular thing for whatever show is on the bubble each season, its impact is going to seriously diminish in the eyes of the executives. Still, if you’re interested in saving the show, you can click here to get involved.

The seven promised episodes of Jericho are already in the can, but instead of waiting until January for the return, we may see them as early as November.

The stars will have to align just right, though.  If any of CBS’s new shows take a ratings nose-dive, the network may call in Jericho to fill in the gap.

Hey, all. Sorry for the lack up updates this week, as I’ve been taking the week off. Expect regular updates starting Monday!

On to the news! The TCA press tour has been going on this week (again, expect a recap next week), and ‘Jericho’s producers let out some big points about what to expect when our favorite post-apocalyptic show returns later this year (via AICN).

The Cheyenne government’s army breaks up the fighting between Jericho and New Bern, but we can still look forward to some postwar scores being settled secretly.

Cheyenne will work to bring water and power back to Jericho.

Titus Welliver, who played Col. Robert Hoffman in the first season finale, was unavailable to reprise the role for the new season.

Most of 2.1 takes place a good while after all the battle with new Bern.

Stanley and Mimi get engaged.

Rob Hawkins and Jake Green go on a mission to save the world.

Sprague Grayden will be back as schoolteacher/fix-it girl Heather Lisinski.

Gerald McRaney is not expected to appear in any flashbacks during the seven hours.

The seven hours begin shooting Monday and should be wrapped by September.

Heather will return to Jericho find Jake and Emily coupled up.

Heather will get another potential romantic interest, but there will still be some “pull” between Heather and Jake.

Had the show received a bigger second-season order, a big part of the action would have been set in New York. As it is, the stories will again be largely confined to the title municipality.

I kind of hate to see the war that left us all on pins and needles just being pushed to the side…hopefully it’ll get a little more service before the cavalry steps in.

Also, New York?  I guess the Big Apple survived…or did we already know that?  I don’t remember, it’s been so long.  That’s what the DVD’s are for.

Anyway, it’s great to see that a show that just weeks ago we thought was gone for good is back up and rolling again.

Okay, ‘Jericho’ lovers…it’s time to put your eyes where your nuts are.

Tonight marks the return of the little show that could…’Jericho’.  This evening at 9/8c, we’ll see a rebroadcast of the pilot, and beginning next week, we’ll start with a recap of the first half of the season and then plunge headfirst into the second half, beginning with “Blackjack”.

If the show’s going to stay saved, it’ll have to start tonight.  Contact everyone you know and get them watching.  They won’t have to go through the admittedly slow first half of the season…the second half jumps feet-first into the good stuff.  Tell them all how great of a show it is, and get them hooked now, so that when the new season comes around, they’ll be clamoring for more with the rest of us.

Tonight…CBS…9/8c.  Be there!

After initially being cancelled by CBS, ‘Jericho’ overcame huge odds and earned a spot in the network’s midseason lineup with a tentative seven episode arc.

Executive Producer Carol Barbee is none too nervous about the show’s future.  In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable, she discussed how she plans to handle the ‘Jericho’s return. 

Will Jericho live beyond the seven episodes?

We are not closing this story out. We have a story to tell. It’s a really rich story, and we’ve got it mapped out for quite a while. The network suggested doing a two-hour movie to wrap up this story. We weren’t in any way interested in closing it down.  When CBS came back to us, they said, “We only have time and space on our sound stage for you to do a limited number of episodes.” So we’ll do those with the intention that we’ll be back.

As much as I love the show, I think this is a bit presumptuous on their part.  Despite the fact that thousands of fans signed petitions and emailed the network and sent in their nuts, thousands is not a whole lot when you consider that the show was cancelled for only having 9 million viewers and change.  There’s a lot to be said about having confidence in your fans, but there’s also a lot to be said about being overconfident about your fan base. 

Well, we’ve finally got a confirmation for the summer rebroadcast of ‘Jericho’.  On Friday, July 6, CBS will broadcast the pilot episode, and the next week, they’ll run “Return to Jericho”, which recaps the first half of the season, followed by “The Day Before”, which was a flashback episode that told of the events leading up to the explosion, and actually surprised me by being one of my favorite episodes.

 “JERICHO” RETURNS TO CBS ON JULY 6

Rebroadcasts From the First Season to Air Fridays at 9:00 PM, ET/PT for the Remainder of the Summer   

JERICHO, CBS’s drama about how residents of a small, peaceful, Kansas town band together to survive in the wake of a nuclear explosion, will return to the Network beginning Friday, July 6 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT).  Rebroadcasts of episodes from the first season will air in the Friday, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT time period for the remainder of the summer.

JERICHO, which last week received a seven episode mid-season order following an impassioned display of fan support, will return on July 6 with a rebroadcast of the pilot episode.

On July 13, CBS will present back-to-back broadcasts beginning with “Return to Jericho” (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), which recapped the first 11 episodes, followed by episode 12, “The Day Before” (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), which launched “Jericho’s” spring return.

The remaining summer broadcasts will consist of episodes 13–22, in which tensions continue to escalate between Jericho and the neighboring town of New Bern as they battle the Kansas winter, dwindling resources and the uncertainty of a new world. The citizens of Jericho must now find a way to unite against these hardships, working together to preserve their community and their way of life as they prepare for an all out battle for survival in the season finale.             

Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Chobsky and Carol Barbee are executive producers of JERICHO for CBS Paramount Network Television.