IN two days, we will know the answer to the 8-month-old question: Was CBS nuts to cancel "Jericho" or nuts to bring it back?
No matter which decision proves nuttier, the critically acclaimed drama about a Kansas town that survives a national nuclear attack will go down in history as the first TV show saved by a grass-roots Internet movement that involved thousands of fans from around the world -- and more than 20 tons of peanuts.
"Jericho" returns on Tuesday with an action-packed seven-episode run that picks up the story from last season's civil war cliffhanger. The series then fast-forwards, paving the way for a new central theme. With survival no longer the main concern, the focus turns to a new form of (shady?) government based in Cheyenne, Wyo., and a new leader, Maj. Beck (Esai Morales), who operates in a new country, the Allied States of America.
Will it be enough to save "Jericho" once more from the humiliating TV demise known as cancellation? If ABC's "Lost" is any indication, TV fans are clamoring for new episodes of their favorite shows in these writers-strike-filled days, which means "Jericho" -- airing on a new night and time slot (10 p.m. Tuesdays), and protected from the "American Idol" juggernaut -- might actually have a shot.
"Jericho" producers also are in the enviable position of offering a complete new season to fans because all of the episodes had been completed when the strike was called.
"I think the angel that has been on the shoulder of 'Jericho' all this time continues to work out for us," said executive producer Carol Barbee, who runs the show. "Of all the consequences of this strike, this is an amazing timing for 'Jericho.' There's very little new content out there, and had we been given even one more episode, our finale would be somewhere in pieces."
When "Jericho" premiered in fall 2006, it was well on its way to becoming one of the hits of that TV season. But an 11-week post-holiday hiatus, which was supposed to help the show by preventing further interruptions in the schedule, instead took a bite out of its audience. The series landed in 53rd place among 201 shows with an average of 9.5 million viewers.
As the fan uprising revealed, though, the Nielsen ratings didn't tell the whole story. Last season, "Jericho" ranked second (behind "Survivor") among shows viewed online on CBS.com. One million more viewers watched episodes later on DVRs, and the first season's DVD ranked in the top 10 in 2007 for CBS Home Entertainment.
