In Development: ‘Jericho’ The Movie
Friday, January 16th, 2009
Looks like it’s not the end of the world for Jericho afterall…
It all started with that Big Damn Movie…
After the critically acclaimed, but ratingly ignored (is “ratingly” a word?) Firefly was prematurely ripped from the airwaves, it was given the chance to continue on the big screen in the form of the film Serenity in 2005. Ever since then, it seems that every killed-before-its-time TV series has been trying to get a movie off the ground. From Veronica Mars to Pushing Daisies, showrunners have had new hope that their canceled shows could be revived in 35mm form.
Now we can add another one to the list.
While promoting his new horror series Harper’s Island for CBS, Jericho executive producer Jon Turteltaub announced that the show must go on! His production company is currently in development of a big screen continuation of the show.
“We’re developing a feature for JERICHO,” says Turteltaub. “It would not require you to have seen the TV show, but it gets into life after an event like this on a national scale. It would be the bigger, full on American version of what’s going on beyond the town in Jericho.”
The series focused on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho in Kansas in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the U.S.
When asked if the cast would return, Turteltaub replied with an enthusiastic, “Oh yeah!”
The TV series starred Skeet Ulrich and Ashley Scott, and was lauded as one of the best television series of 2007, becoming un-canceled after irate fans planned a clever protest involving peanuts (something that is apparently meaningful to the series). Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived and the show was canceled after a short second season.
The show is already seeing a second life of sorts this season on The CW, where its being re-aired every Sunday night.
“It’s crazy,” says Turteltaub. “I think they’re airing it because it’s cheap and there’s still that feeling that it hasn’t really gotten all the attention it can. When I think about the fact, a repeat of JERICHO on CW actually has more viewers than an episode of MAD MEN, you realize the difference between cable and broadcast, you realize the difference between what the press is watching vs. what America is watching. And I bring up MAD MEN, because it’s a brilliant show. But it’s still fun to see the show won’t die.”
(iF)
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I would kill for this. Jericho ended in a way where you could totally continue it without requiring any sort of prior knowledge of the series. One of my favorite series from the last few years.
I never watched it, but my mom did. She was pretty crushed when it was cancelled. I tried to catch it when it started airing on the CW, but I always end up doing something with the kids instead. I would watch the movie though for sure.
It’s only 2 seasons, and it ends pretty well (But made me hungry for more at the same time). I’d recommend to just about anyone that hasn’t seen it.
Which time was she crushed? The first time it was canceled? Or the second time? It’s one of the only TV shows I can ever remember successfully getting a renewal after being canceled (VIA the “Nuts over Jericho” Campaign. Look it up, if you don’t remember it).
I think it was the first because I think she got confused when it came back. I am not sure if she knew they were new episodes and then by the time I heard she had already gotten into a new show with the same time slot. I think she was worried about ti getting cancelled again, and she was right.
I figured I`d get the DVDs for her for her now that there will be a movie. I didn`t want to get them before and have it leave her hanging. Then I can borrow them too!
Jericho is in my Netflix instant watch queue, so I plan on getting into it eventually. I watched the pilot for the show, and I liked it, but I didn’t keep watching for some reason. Maybe it was on at the same time as something else I was watching.
I own both seasons back lost intrest towards the end oif the first season and have just never found time to pick it up again.
Season 2 was better than season 1, IMO. Especially with how it ended. But I loved Season 1 too. It was a bit clunky the first couple episodes best I remember though. Still, the first scene where you see the nuke explode is classic…
One step closer to making my life complete. This is amazing! I loved Jericho, and while it did draw to a close in Season 2, the continued possibilities were endless. Oh, so very happy!
If they can get a Jericho movie off the ground, then a Pushing Daisies movie should be no problem at all.
Jericho had the fan support to un-cancel the show. I haven’t seen that for Pushing Daisies yet, so I’m not sure how well the two scenarios relate.
Did Jericho win any Emmys?
You are talking to someone that devalues award shows about as much as humanly possible. But to answer the question, while I believe it was nominated for at least one, I don’t think it ever won any.
But last I checked, shiny awards never went to theaters and bought tickets for movies. But obsessive fans willing to buy hundreds of dollars in nuts to renew a show sure sure do.
But then again, that didn’t work so well for Serenity. But of course, Serenity never got the fan support to renew their canceled show, either. Ala Jericho and Family Guy. So really it’s a toss up to whether or not it would be a success. The point is though, they know it has the fan support to put butts in the seat, and it sounds like they feel it could be a better movie than a TV show (And have said so since the first season).
I’m sure Pushing Daisies is a great show. But it’s a different case altogether.
I’ve never really heard much about this show, I’d probably check out a movie and if it’s good, then I’d watch the show
I’m very excited about this! I love this show, love it so much I have a Jericho podcast actually. I didn’t watch from the beginning. I bought the first season DVD, then caught up and watched season 2 when it aired.
I think people will definitely go see this movie. People who watched the show will go, and people who didn’t might as well. It has a good movie premise.