'Jericho' Cancelled Again

Nuts can only get you so far, I suppose.

For the second time in a couple of years, CBS has cancelled the post-apocalyptic drama Jericho. I can't say I'm surprised -- the ratings were once again pretty bad. So much so that CBS deserves kudos for bowing to fan pressure and resurrected the adventures of Jake, Robert and the rest. I'm not sure whether the series finale wraps up all loose ends, but it's possible a fan campaign could spur some other channel to put together a low-budget movie or two.

What do you think? Planning to send nuts to CBS? Or do you hope Jericho moves to a different home, like Sci-Fi? Cook up your resurrection schemes below.

Comments

If CBS really wanted the show to succeed they would have brought it back at its original time slot and a realistic amount of episodes. 7 was not enough. There should have been a third season as well because there was to much to cover in that short of time. I hope another network does pick it up. I used to primarily watch CBS and its shows but now I no longer feel any sense of loyalty to them because they obviously have none to their fans.

Laurie | Mar 21, 2008 6:09:09 PM | #

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How sad its cancelled again. I can't blame CBS too much -- it is a TV business. Nielsens were not there. I know it was a hard decision for CBS. I wished it was on in another time slot. Maybe gave it a Monday try in place of "CSI: Miami" or Thursday nights after "CSI." Those shows were in reruns anyways due to writers' strike. Then, at least, you would really know the show is a failure to TV audiences. Although I hope some other network would pick it up (the shorten season was fantastic), I know -- most likely -- this is the end for our favorite TV show. RIP Jericho

Buddy | Mar 21, 2008 7:41:02 PM | #

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CBS threw the NUTS fans a bone. They never gave this show a real chance to survive. This is a great drama that was screwed over by a long hiatus in season 1. It never recovered. This is why network television sucks outside of a very small handful of shows.
I doubt they can sell this show to a cable network. The budget would be much smaller.
CBS ruined a good thing.

Tom | Mar 21, 2008 8:54:40 PM | #

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It seems like every show I've gotten vested in is cancelled. Invasion, BSG, and now Jericho. TV sux. At least there's still LOST.

Terry | Mar 21, 2008 9:00:24 PM | #

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I'm just curious as to why fans say that the hiatus in S1 was a bad thing? The reason I ask is would you have preferred that they aired the show the way they did say a CSI? Remember, they air CSI at the beginning of the year the same way they did Jericho, but then they air a couple of eps in Dec and a couple more in Jan then Feb sweeps and couple more in March then a mid-April to the end of the year. i.e. they take a lot of weeks off. It is much easier, IMO, to watch a show like Jericho in steady chunks like the way they aired the show in S1 - in 2 big chunks with a hiatus in the middle. That way you have continued viewing for roughly 1/2 the year at a time. Unlike, say, 24 which airs in 1 continued chunk, you really can't do that with a show that has an unestablished audience. It would be pretty difficult to justify giving a show a back 9 pickup without the show airing - as would be required if they aired it in w/o any breaks the way 24 is aired.

I'd like to hear a realistic viewing plan that fans of the show would have preferred to the one that CBS gave Jericho in S1.

Rishi | Mar 22, 2008 1:04:25 AM | #

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What a rip! CBS didn't give Jericho an honest and fair chance! It was like someone giving you a helping hand to pull you out of a hole in the ground and then letting go before you can climb all the way out! Jericho is my favorite show. I'm hoping Sci-Fi might decide to pick it up and continue the series. HINT, HINT Sci-Fi!!!

Merrylee | Mar 22, 2008 11:09:55 AM | #

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Rishi, the reason the long hiatus was so bad was that during that break there are no reruns, either to catch up fans of the show, or to suck in new fans who may tune in to see what it was all about. People forget about the show as the months pass. The show was then put against established shows and many fans made a choice, to stay with what they knew. Shows like Lost have seen drops with a break, and another freshman drama with initial high ratings (Commander in Chief) died a low ratings death in their second half of the season. It would have been better if CBS had brought back the show during the fall, when the hype was the highest, or as a limited replacement for a CSI when one went on hiatus.....not the Tuesday timeslot where all shows go to die

David | Mar 22, 2008 11:49:19 AM | #

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If it doesn'tmake a quick buck it goes.which sucks

dave | Mar 22, 2008 3:02:46 PM | #

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I was sure this would happen, but it still hurts. I don't know enough about Nielsen ratings I guess, but would the ammount of viewers that was considered "low" at CBS be considered "acceptable" at a cable network, say Sci-Fi? :) They've been showing a lot of episodes lately, maybe to gauge viewer interest??

Fresh | Mar 22, 2008 6:21:58 PM | #

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I saw it for the first time
Friday (yesterday)--the first and following episodes on Sci-Fi. The first episode was a little slow at first, but it got better and I watched all of them. I plan to watch next Friday too. :)

Jon | Mar 22, 2008 7:42:06 PM | #

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I just love Jericho. I hope it moves to another channel, like Scifi. I think the only reason nobody else (besides me and a few others) actually watch the show is because it's on the wrong channel, at the wrong time.

That Guy | Mar 22, 2008 10:11:44 PM | #

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The hiatus killed the show because casual fans have zero attention span. Jericho had built an audience up to an 11 share by the end of November. When it finally returned in February, the number had crumbled down to about a 9. The juggernaut known as American Idol then proceeded to kill off Jericho's casual fanbase, leaving the show with a 7 share by the finale. Essentially, CBS managed to kill off the show by using the same hiatus logic that ABC used for Lost that year. With Lost's ratings spiraling downwards, ABC admitted that the long hiatus was a bad idea, but Lost's ratings were still decent enough to bring it back...not so for Jericho.

What gets me is that CBS killed Jericho with it's poor decisions, but rather than admit their wrongdoing, they simply canceled one of the best shows on tv. So, it wasn't really a shock when the show's rabid fans launched a unique "nuts" campaign to try to get it back. Although it appeared that the campaign succeeded, CBS sabotaged the show by giving it a crappy timeslot and only a handful of episodes aired during the most desolate time of year.

Now, why can't CBS drop this show onto one of their cable networks? Viacom has lots of cable networks to choose from.
Could you imagine the coolness of Jericho on Showtime? or stay the course on Spike Tv. There are lots of options to keep a show with 7 + million hardcore fans alive. It's just a shame that the current way of doing things in Network land doesn't make this possible. Truly another example where good people take a backseat to the almighty dollar.

Thank you for allowing me to rant.

Jeff

Jeff | Mar 22, 2008 10:51:55 PM | #

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Sorry, I just have to disagree with everyone on here. CBS gave this show more than a fair chance. Bringing the show back for 7 episodes was a compromise in order to justify the expense. Did you really expect them to give it a full 22 episode pickup with that small of an audience? Also, CBS promoted this show extensively for the second season. Not just for the premiere but every week. Networks like FOX stop the promotion train when the first episode doesn't get at least 12 million viewers.

Sorry guys. Can't blame CBS for this one. Ya gotta blame the dumb American audience that would rather watch "The Moment of Truth".

Blue Sean | Mar 23, 2008 6:34:10 AM | #

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I'm really upset to see Jericho end. I was so happy to see it come back even if they but it in a crappy time slot. CBS was not fair on any of this. They stuck it here just to satisfy the people knowing it would not work and not get ratings and then say I told you so-Had your second chance and now it goes-Lets get rid of some of the stupid reality shows-Tired of them

Lois | Mar 23, 2008 8:22:31 AM | #

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I'm really upset to see Jericho end. I was so happy to see it come back even if they but it in a crappy time slot. CBS was not fair on any of this. They stuck it here just to satisfy the people knowing it would not work and not get ratings and then say I told you so-Had your second chance and now it goes-Lets get rid of some of the stupid reality shows-Tired of them

Lois | Mar 23, 2008 8:23:50 AM | #

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I agree that they never gave this a chance. They put it in a crummy time slot and refused to recognize that the majority of users watched it via the internet or "On Demand" from Conmcast.

John | Mar 23, 2008 12:56:41 PM | #

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Oh...and Big Brother pulled worse ratings...but it gets to come back in the summer

How about Jericho as a summer run?!

Networks are so short-sighted. No wonder people are spending more time being entertained by the internet, than by TV.

Jeff | Mar 23, 2008 2:29:33 PM | #

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again cbs shows why they are a 3rd rate network and have been for the last 17 years, anyone remember tour of duty, cbs did the same thing to that show, moved it around when the rating were good and put it on other time slots in its three year run until it found a time slot where the rating got lower when the show story lines got better and better. well same here again with Jerico, maybe cbs will bring it back as csi/jerico. As Hawkins would sat: WE NEED A PLAN. save Jerico

rich | Mar 23, 2008 5:54:18 PM | #

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CBS put the show in a time-slot that was not family-oriented...There are very few shows that succeed that late into the night...if CBS had a tremendous outpouring of support for the show after its first cancel, why slate it for such a late time-slot? Ridiculous.

Doug | Mar 23, 2008 5:56:17 PM | #

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I guess its just not realistic to expect a major network to give a great show a decent chance. Why wasn't the show put back on Wednesday night in the original time slot and given more promotion. It is just hard to believe there isn't some politics going on well beyond some supposed poor ratings which created a no win situation for the show. If any other studio had half a brain they would pick this up the way CBS picked up NCIS after its first or second season from NBC, and NCIS went on to run for years.

gary | Mar 23, 2008 6:07:10 PM | #

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It really is too bad... I haven't watched anything with this my hunger for more since the Taken mini-series, back in late '02, early '03. To agree with many, Jericho was probably set for cancellation the moment they decided to give in and make the 7 episodes - and put those episodes on at 10pm EST!!! Jericho never really had a chance this "season." To play devil's advocate though, how can you really squeeze several seasons out of this plot? I guess it's possible, but would it have ended up running ragged and rediculous by a 4th season? (Jake, now the governor of Kansas, must decide the fate of the Nebraska Allied Coallition's corn cache and maintain his 2 demensional relationships with [now] 5 women!) These season 2 episodes seem VERY rushed and poorly edited on a meager budget anyway... Lot's of holes that they don't even try to fill or explain. Seems like it was just a case of "give these NUTS people 7 high octane, rediculous episodes with lot's of bang n' booms and then shut'er down so we can get another reality show up. Maybe we could do "Re-Inventing Britney?"

Sorry folks...I'm just as sad as you are. :(

Christian | Mar 24, 2008 5:14:18 AM | #

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It's like CBS had it out for Jericho from the beginning. Why did they bother? They put the show up against Idol they take a forever hiatus and then put it in the worst time slot at 10PM. I hope another network recognizes the potential and picks it up. There are so few decent shows out there that we can't afford to lose this one too.

Renee | Mar 24, 2008 6:39:46 AM | #

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Gary, I think you meant JAG (which CBS picked up after the 1st season which aired on NBC) not NCIS - which was a spinoff of JAG.

Rishi | Mar 24, 2008 5:58:45 PM | #

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just a follow-up on my last post. Both Jericho and JAG are owned by Paramount which is partnered with/owned by CBS. Therefore, it made it much easier for CBS to pick up the JAG property. In addition, Donald Bellisario was the creator of JAG and CBS had had a successful history with him in the past (Magnum P.I., Airwolf) and he'd had other successful shows as well (Quantum Leap - which aired on NBC).

Jericho's creators didn't have an success in the past and in fact 2 of them are working on their first show.

As for those wondering why Big Brother is getting another run despite poor ratings. Simply put: It's all about the all mighty dollar. Big Brother makes money, Jericho loses money. It costs more money to make 1 episode of Jericho than it would to make an entire season of Big Brother (or any reality show).

Rishi | Mar 24, 2008 6:11:26 PM | #

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There's really not too much to say. I'm 66 years old and really should have known better to invest my time on a network show. They continue to reward strictly junk and sex oriented comedies that have absolutely no relavence to the real world.

I have become an almost exclusive USA and TNT network fan. The shows on USA are fresh and interesting.

The networks are strictly for those with very little interest other than laugh tracks and stars wearing scanty clothing and dancing for your votes.

Troy Haltom | Mar 25, 2008 8:36:38 PM | #

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