Jericho WILL Be Back!

It's true. As you may have heard by now — or you didn't since you were in a coma — the previously canceled CBS series "Jericho" has gotten a fan-forced reprieve. I can hardly believe it myself. But don't take my word for it. Take Nina Tassler's. She's the president of CBS after all.

June 6, 2007
To the Fans of Jericho:

Wow!

Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.

As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of “Jericho” for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more “Jericho,” we will need more viewers.

A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.

We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.

At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that “Jericho” will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting “Jericho” on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.

On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of “Jericho” in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.

Sincerely,

Nina Tassler

President, CBS Entertainment


P.S. Please stop sending us nuts

See? It just goes to show — CBS cares.

No really, though, this is the biggest of wins for television fans when it comes to rallying behind quality shows that meet an all too early demise. A few weeks ago, when it first happened, I wrote a few posts about it — how annoying it was that a network would allow a series to write a cliffhanger finale then choose not to renew it for another season.

A lot of fans agreed and so began the campaign of shipping peanuts — a joke only "Jericho" viewers would truly understand — to CBS to convince them they weren't a minority voice. And by god it worked!

In an unrelated story, fans of the recently canceled "Veronica Mars" plan to inundate The CW with Mars bars. No, I'm dead serious.