Jericho is Saved -- for Now

Fans who protested the cancellation Jericho, CBS post-apocalyptic drama, now have something to be grateful for. Their voices have been heard.

In a statement by the President of CBS Entertainment Nina Tassler, "Over the past few weeks, you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a primetime 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."

According to Tassler's statement, these seven episodes will give the writers an opportunity to resolve the storyline, but will also give fans a chance to show that they are, in fact, watching the show with the same fervor in which they demanded its continuation.

In order to bolster the number of fans, CBS has planned to rebroadcast the entire series this summer. CBS will also be putting episodes of the show online so that people who would not normally be able to view it during its television time slot have a chance to see it on their own time. This, combined with the first season's DVD release on September 25th, will give the series its best possible shot for continuation.

In terms of when the show will return, Tassler says, "At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that "Jericho" will return to our schedule. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on," In spite of this, according to TV Guide, the series may return as soon as October, but with a much tighter budget. Writer Stephen Chbosky tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (as cited in the TV guide article) that the tighter budget translates to fewer guest appearances and on-screen road trips for the current cast.

It also appears that, if the show is successful next season, Chbosky has a great cliffhanger planned for the last episode, but also "know[s] how to wrap up a show if we have to."

In fueling rumors that there are no plans to continue beyond the seven episodes, in a May 18^th post on Jericho's CBS forum, Tassler says, "Thank you for supporting Jericho with such passion. We truly appreciate the commitment you made to the series and we are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure to the compelling drama that was the Jericho story."

Perhaps the most compelling appeal by fans were the mountains of nuts sent to the network, referring to a series of segments in the last few episodes of Jericho's first season, where characters were telling a story that had a punch line of, "Nuts."