CBS nukes "Jericho" for lookalike show with cheaper talent

I am sorry to report that CBS is not in Kansas anymore.

In announcing its fall schedule to advertisers Wednesday, television’s most-watched network left off “Jericho,” its thriller about nuclear apocalypse in a fictional town somewhere between Kansas City and Denver.

Kelly Kahl, the CBS scheduler known for his bold moves — he was the guy who wanted “CSI” moved to Thursday nights — told reporters in New York that “Jericho,” which starred Skeet Ulrich, had “lost a lot of steam” and “wasn’t performing.”

It was a brutal year for serial dramas, the perhaps inevitable result of too many of them being added to network schedules at once. With the sacking of “Jericho,” ABC’s “Ugly Betty” and NBC’s “Heroes” are the only genre shows still around a year after being announced at last year’s upfronts.

CBS thought it had constructed a winning strategy for “Jericho.” To cover the nearly three-month gap when the show was off the air, the network’s news division created companion programming that streamed at the CBS website.

What the network brass could not anticipate was viewer attrition for all serial dramas. Even established hits like “Heroes” and “Lost” came back after long vacations to noticeably lower ratings. But clearly the producers knew the end was nigh. In the season-ending episode of “Jericho,” they killed off one of the most appealing characters on the show, the longtime mayor played by Gerald McRaney. Locked in a fratricidal war with a neighboring town, and with who-knows-what coming at them from across the stricken continent, the citizens of Jericho, Kansas, faced a whole host of challenges ahead.

Turns out that surviving nuclear holocaust was easy compared with surviving a 7 p.m. Wednesday time slot on CBS.

The network rolled out five new shows at its Wednesday morning press conference in New York, including a reality show, “Kid Nation,” taking “Jericho’s” place on the schedule. “Kid Nation,” a sort of “Lord of the Flies” on the Ponderosa, sounds a lot like what "Jericho" might be if you fired all the actors. Forty kids are placed in an abandoned ghost town in New Mexico and given 40 days to bring it back to life — shops, government, housing arrangements — all by themselves. It’s been years since anything worked for CBS in this time period, so why not?

A new comedy, “The Big Bang Theory,” takes the place of “The Class” on its Monday-night lineup. It’s from Chuck Lorre, whose track record is excellent (“Two and a Half Men” and “Dharma & Greg). Jimmy Smits will star as a mobster in “Cane,” which will air Tuesday nights at 9, the same time period in which CBS thought America would love to watch Ray Liotta as a violent burglar last season. “Smith” was gone by Christmas.

“Close to Home” was also cancelled, which was less of a surprise than “Jericho’s” vanishing act. Its place was taken by “Moonlight,” which appears to be an effort to resuscitate an odd subgenre: the vampire detective series. Alex O’Loughlin will play a cop who’s been undead since his bride bit him 60 years ago. It’s clearly meant as a companion piece to “Ghost Whisperer.”

And the new lead-out to “60 Minutes” this fall will be “Viva Laughlin,” a mystery show set in a Nevada casino town. According to CBS, it will use “upbeat contemporary songs to accentuate the drama and humor and advance the story,” much like the show it’s based on, the BBC’s Peabody-winning musical drama “Viva Blackpool.”

“New Christine” and “The Amazing Race” will return at midseason, as will a new show, “Swingtown,” which is not a musical featuring the tunes of Brian Setzer or Bob Wills but a drama about open marriages in the 1970s.

Comments

[Barbara/KC]

Jericho had a million things wrong with it but it did have a dedicated fan base, who are now highly ticked off.

As for the argument that viewers won't watch serial shows, I have to disagree. I started the last tv season watching at least five of them - nearly blew up my dvr trying to keep up. But before I could decide which ones I'd stick with, the networks started canceling them left and right. The Nine, Kidnapped, Six Degrees - pfft. All of them gone just as they were getting good, some dead, some banished to the internet. Please don't ask me to watch tv on a computer. I have an old laptop with a little screen. I have a 62" television. Which would YOU choose?

Now Jericho is gone. *sigh* At least I still have Friday Night Lights.

[DON]

WELL ONCE AGAIN SOMEONE TAKES A SHOW OFF THE AIR WITH A GREAT FAN BASE AND PUTS ON SOMETHING STUPID (REALITY TYPE SHOW) WELL CBS IS NOW OFF MY TV FOR ANYTHING THAT IS ON IT . I LEFT WB WHEN THEY TOOK OFF EVERWOOD AND HAVE NOT WATCHED A SHOW SINCE SO IT WILL BE THE SAME WITH CBS. IT'S TO BAD THAT THE HORSES ASS THAT RUNS THE NETWORK CARES NOTHING ABOUT LOYAL VIEWERS . WELL IT WILL GIVE ME MORE TIME TO WATCH NBC. I HOPE THAT IT IS PICKED UP ELSWHERE BY A STATION THAT KNOWS AND CARES WHAT IT FANS LIKE.

[Donna]

Well don't get too hooked on Friday Night Lights the way the producers on TV think they may cancel that "because there is enough football on the air." They leave brainless shows on for years and cancel good shows. Look at Firefly, great show and they didn't even give word a mouth a chance to work. I am sick of TV doing this and will be renting movies and reading.

[Darius]

Too bad for Jericho. The show was really starting to pick up steam with the war between Jericho and Newburn. The season and series finale was a very touching episode.

[Mark Jeffries]

Then why do critics say that this is the Golden Age of Series Drama? Or is it SF geeks who can't accept anything other than SF or Jossies and Sorkies who can't get off the Kool-Aid?

[Ryan]

I agree with Donna. This is Firefly all over again. All we can hope for is a movie finishing the series.

[wally]

WHAT DO I HAVE TO LIVE FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WORK 70 HOURS A WEEK AND LOVE THAT SHOW, THAT JERK AT CBS SHOULD BE TARED AND FEATHERED AND NEVER WORK IN TV AGAIN.HOW CAN THEY GET YOU ALL FIRED UP AND THEN BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM YOUR OUT!I WENT OUT AND GOT A DVR JUST TO TAPE JERICO!!!!!! MAYBE ME AND THE OTHER MILLIONS OF PEOPLE MAY TAPE IT LIKE ME,I'M A BROKER AND DONT ANYTHING ABOUT HOW RATING ARE DONE.BUT I KNOW MY WHOLE BROKERAGE WATCHES JERICO.AND WE DVR IT!I WISH THAT THIS IDIOT WOULD KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING.WHAT IS HE STARTING ANOTHER CSI OR SOME IDIOTIC REALITY SHOW.WISH SOME OTHER NETWORK WOULD PICK IT UP

[Kay]

Kelly Kahl, the CBS scheduler known for his bold moves — he was the guy who wanted “CSI” moved to Thursday nights — told reporters in New York that “Jericho,” which starred Skeet Ulrich, had “lost a lot of steam” and “wasn’t performing.”

Ha! Kelly Kahl is an IDIOT! CBS itself put a stop to "Jericho's" steam when it put it on a 3-MONTH HIATUS!

I hope next season, CBS is longing to have "JERICHO'S" 8-MILLION LOYAL VIEWERS watching ANYTHING on their netork. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

[Rick]

Way to go. Give us what you want rather then what we the viewers want. Maybe CSI will be next to get the boot in favor of more ridiculous reality shows. Your market is talking - are you listening NBC?

[Tim]

I am real disappointed with CBS, and network television in general. I watched every Jericho episode this season. I didn't care that there was a 3 month hiatus, I was sure to be there when the hiatus ended. I thought Jericho was well done and believable. It was much better than the "reality tv" that seems to be the rage of network television anymore. Is there anything that the 8 million fans can do to change CBS' mind about Jericho?

[E. Salas]

I can't believe they cancelled Jericho! What is wrong with CBS? This is one of the most popular shows in my community. Just goes to show you we are better off not watching network television at all...

[John]

Madness! I'll never watch CBS again, EVER.. MORONS!

[Mary Ellen]

I seriously consider this a bad move - this was a favorite show of my husband's and mine. We are loyal CBS viewers who may now change our minds. I am also disappointed with the cancellation of Close to Home but not as much. I agree that TV folks do not really care what we like to watch. They decide what we should watch - won't work with me!!!!!

Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!!

[Mary Ellen]

I seriously consider this a bad move - this was a favorite show of my husband's and mine. We are loyal CBS viewers who may now change our minds. I am also disappointed with the cancellation of Close to Home but not as much. I agree that TV folks do not really care what we like to watch. They decide what we should watch - won't work with me!!!!!

Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!!

[John]

Jericho was fun, escapist drama. It wasn’t perfect, but I looked forward to it each week. If CBS would consider moving or selling shows to other networks like SHOWTIME did with Stargate SG-1 to Sci-Fi, instead of just giving them the axe, I think the show could keep or even expand it’s audience. It’s just like Enterprise all over again; at least we still have Heroes. I’ll be boycotting CBS for a long time!

[Andrew Hime]

What might have killed off Jericho was the HORRIBLE writing of the first 5-8 episodes. The pilot was fine, but the episode immediately following it were dire. I stuck with it because of the premise, and a couple months later, I looked up and realized I quite liked the show because they finally got into the real issues instead of being a Touched by an Angel post-nuke. I even managed to get over my hatred of both Gerald McRaney AND Skeet Ulrich.

I'm a little bit annoyed that it's now been killed when it had started to get REALLY promising.

[ZipperLT]

I am from Lithuania and been watching all Jericho episodes.. cant believe its now being pulled off.. such a good show arggghhh.. I shall worship whoever brings Jericho back.

[brad]

It is very shortsighted for CBS to cancel "Jericho". The series was well-written, had depth of characters, and a pliot with a million possiblities. Shows of high quality and originiality take time to attract a large audience. CBS will regret this decision later on.I just hope that other networks pick up the series. The SCIFI Channel for example would be a great home for such an electic series.

[Kristine]

Maybe we should all start a write in campaign to CBS to bring back Jericho... it has worked in the past to bring back TV shows... so who knows??

[Eric]

I guess we know the answer to "Who dropped the bomb" on Jericho now don't we? Good job CBS! You've single handedly executed the best TV show any of you cooks came up with in a long while. While there's still CSI: Somewhere pulling decent numbers, the end is near for those shows. Please tell me you are kidding to replace such great shows like Jericho with some sick science experiment dealing with children being left alone to their own devises?

[jeri]

I can't believe you pulled the plug on Jericho, what is wrong with you? And then to replace it with Kid Nation, ridiculous is all I can really say, without getting myself into trouble! Jericho was just getting really good, and the loyal fans were sticking by it even whwn it did slow a little, but it was speeding up fast! So now I guess we are supposed to assume everyone died in the firefight in the season finale, NOT series finale!

[Paul Cuscione]

Guess what CBS YOU'VE BEEN CANCELLED!!!! in the Cuscione Household. And you know what my tivo won't even miss you!!! You do not deserve viewers. Hey Kelly Kahl I hope your stockholders know you are responsible for the loss of viewers. I plan on contacting every advertiser that was on Jericho and letting them know not to bother advertsing on CBS any more. THEY HAVE BEEN CANCELLED. Hey folks lets make sure these networks know that they cannot take us for granted. There are 300 other channels out there. There is Blockbuster and Netflix we never have to watch the crap that these morons at the networks put on. And CSB Don't feel bad NBC and FOX have also been cancelled at the Cuscione House because they do not value me as a viewer anymore than you do.

Come on folks enough is enough already.

[jeri]

I can't believe you pulled the plug on Jericho, what is wrong with you? And then to replace it with Kid Nation, ridiculous is all I can really say, without getting myself into trouble! Jericho was just getting really good, and the loyal fans were sticking by it even when it did slow a little, but it was speeding up fast! So now I guess we are supposed to assume everyone died in the firefight in the season finale, NOT series finale!

[lynn]

I can't believe you pulled the plug on Jericho, what is wrong with you? And then to replace it with Kid Nation, ridiculous is all I can really say, without getting myself into trouble! Jericho was just getting really good, and the loyal fans were sticking by it even when it did slow a little, but it was speeding up fast! So now I guess we are supposed to assume everyone died in the firefight in the season finale, NOT series finale!

[Robyn]

Unbelievable! I get hooked on yet another great show and poof, gone! It was a fantastic show and I cannot believe it's gone. With the help of TiVo now, I can watch more and more shows at my leisure.