Plucked from the void, primetime's Lazarus
Jericho achieved the unlikely with its fan-powered resurrection, and now the cast and crew are beginning to talk openly about how they handled the unexpected news as it broke. Everyone who followed the story will remember that the most favored option was a pickup by a cable network, but a lot of the crew could not afford to hold out hope for too long. At this year's San Diego Comicon, the cast reminisced about how they reacted as word of the renewal spread to the cast.
To hear producer Jon Steinberg talk,
Jericho living on in some manner or another was more or less a given. Some have tried to take the wind out of the fan movement's efforts by insinuating that the cancellation was nothing more than a publicity stunt, an accusation hardly supported by CBS's limited mid-season order. “We all sort of knew something was going to happen. We heard something about cable, and then we got the news that we were coming back.” Steinberg told Comicon attendees.
For the cast, the news proliferated quickly. “I was in my garage and Ahsley said the business office had called, and when lawyers get involved you know it's official.”
Skeet Ulrich recalled. It was Ulrich himself that brought the news to
Lennie James. “I picked up the phone and Skeet's voice saying,' we're back on' and then just us screaming like little girls,” he said.
As things sit,
Jericho will have seven episodes to prove it is worthy a full-season order. Previously, rumors were that the writers had a plan to wrap the series if it failed to get another order. James, however, disputed that. “We plan on coming back. I know what you are saying. Right now, we do not have a plan to wrap it up at the end of episode seven.”
- Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: Comicbookresources.com
(Image Courtesy of CBS)