'Jericho' May Receive Six More Episodes

Series is placed under pressure to perform in second season

By ALAN STANLEY BLAIR Jun-15-2007
Source: TV Guide

Fans rejoicing about the news that "Jericho" will in fact be back for seven new episodes have got one more reason to cheer -- the series might have a very bright future after all as CBS is open to the idea of continuing with the series beyond those initial episodes.

In an exclusive interview with TV Guide, Skeet Ulrich (who plays Jake Green on the program) admitted that although the initial order for Season 2 is only seven episodes, the network will be watching the performance of those shows closely with the option of extending their order to a total of 13 episodes.

Apparently, the reason for the seven-episode order was “really about studio space and budget and the amount CBS is already putting forth toward its other shows,” he said. “So we had to make some concessions and we were more than willing to do it. Our hope is to make these seven, have them do well and we make the next six for the season and then move forward and get a full Season 3. But I’ve learned not to get ahead of myself in this game ... I think we’re going to be working under tighter circumstances than we were.”

But although the pickup for another year may seen as a chance to relax, Ulrich confirmed that when the series goes into production there will be very little time unwind as the pressure to turn around episodes is cut short by a day and that the series may have to work with a lower budget than before.

“In terms of money, and I had heard we might be working seven days per episode,” he added. “We were struggling to do a couple of last season’s episodes in eight days. But we’ll make it work.”

Ulrich also discussed the campaign to save the show in the interview thanking the fans of the series for their dedication.

“I had heard pretty early on from my mom that there was a petition going around and there were like 40,000 signatures on it,” he said. “They were just starting to send nuts to CBS.”

However, the thing that amazed the actor the most is the choice of name for the campaign, based on a piece of dialogue in the season finale. According to the actor, the line “nuts” was actually the “toughest one I had to deliver all season. It’s such a non sequitur. To see it turn into this rallying cry of petitioning and fighting for the show is really interesting. It was insane following it and then for it to have an effect.”

For the rest of the interview, please visit TV Guide.

Reruns of the first season of "Jericho" will begin airing Friday nights on CBS starting July 6.

About the Author: Alan Stanley Blair is the news editor for Airlock Alpha and assistant news editor for its sister site, Inside Blip. Contributing from his home in Scotland, he is currently studying for a diploma in freelance journalism and feature writing.
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