Let's say the strike isn't settled by Christmas.  Let's say it's not even settled by the time summer hits.  What, then?  What do fans of scripted content have to look forward to in 2008?  The pickings will be slim, but there are going to be some glimmers of hope for scripted drama lovers.  Fans of half hour comedy, I'm afraid, are out of luck.  Unless The New Adventures of Old Christine does it for you (there are eight or so episodes set to air), there's not much out there.  However, in the drama department there are a few rare series who will air their entire uninterrupted seasons in 2008.  One of those is Jericho.

Jericho is a special circumstance, of course.  It was canceled, then famously revived thanks to a large fan uprising involving nuts.  It's a nice story.  The drama's second season was put into production, but with a very abbreviated season in mind.  Only seven episodes were ordered, which is a bizarre number for a network show, but now that the strike has happened, it's almost a blessing.  Jericho will air all seven season 2 episodes, allowing the series to tell its entire story for season 2. 

Jericho, as far as I can tell, is the only network show that will finish its entire season.  Lost is coming back with exactly half of its fourth season, eight episodes which will start airing in February.  That's about it for exciting network shows.   Cable is a different story, though.  All 13 episodes of The Shield's new season will be aired.  The Wire has already wrapped production on its fifth and final season, and HBO will air it in entirety in 2008. 

It'd be cool if CBS took this opportunity with the strike to re-air Jericho's first season and try to pick up new viewers as it readied for the second season.  They probably won't do this (because repeats of CSI will receive double the viewers), but it's something to think about. 


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer 
(Image Courtesy of CBS)