No Surprise, 'Eureka' Earns Fourth Season On Syfy

'Grounded' comedy continues to be one of cable channel's biggest hits

By MICHAEL HINMAN Aug-29-2009
Source: Slice of SciFi
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Syfy has asked for some more "Eureka" next year, and we're not talking about just another season ... but also more episodes.

The NBC Universal channel ordered 22 episodes for the fourth season of the show, four more than the 18 in the current season. The third season was originally scheduled to have 21 episodes, but the Writers Guild of America strike in 2008 chopped three episodes off that order.

"We were thrilled and more that it's 22 episodes," Erica Cerra told SciFi Wire. Cerra plays Deputy Jo Lupo on "Eureka," and also had a guest stint a few years back on "Battlestar Galactica" where she played the lady tasked to raise Herra after Athena and Helo were told the baby had died. "The way we found out was so much fun, getting word before the end of the season. You're usually waiting until much later."

"Eureka" will air its third season finale early next month.

"I love working on this show, and we have a really great cast and crew, and we've got a good thing going. It's nice."

"Eureka" stars Cerra along with Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Joe Morton and Jordan Hinson. It takes place in an out-of-the-way town that is populated almost entirely by geniuses and their families.

While the show is not getting the 4.1 million viewers it commanded when it became the then SciFi Channel's highest rated premiere in 14 years, "Eureka" still attracted 2.8 million viewers to its Season 3 premiere, and 2.7 million to its mid-season premiere. It remains one of Syfy's highest-rated shows. It is, however, lagging behind Syfy's new quirky dramedy, "Warehouse 13," which is pulling in more than 3 million viewers on average, and was renewed by the cable channel last week.

In its fourth season, "Eureka" will try to get some additional attention, including plans for a two-part musical episode.

"That wil be very, very, very interesting," Cerra said. "I have no idea what that will be about. I suppose the network and the writers feel comfortable with the fact that the cast can sing."

Doing a musical episode in the genre has been popular since Joss Whedon successfully did it with the "Once More With Feeling" episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

About the Author: Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.
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