It is now been over a month and a half since the cancellation and subsequent resurrection of CBS’ Jericho, and the time has come for Jericho fans to put their devotion to the test. As announced in early June, CBS begins reairing half of the show’s first season tonight at 9pm EDT on CBS with the show’s one-hour pilot.
For all of Cultural Learnings’ Jericho Coverage, Click Here.
This is a substantial test for CBS, and is basically the most definitive post-renewal moment that its fans have faced. These reruns are designed to give new fans a chance to catch the show, while also testing to see whether the people who shelled out cash for Nuts are also willing to also take an hour out of their Friday evening in order to spend some time in Kansas.
Here at Cultural Learnings, we’ll be bringing the Jericho Rerun Report to life each Friday evening where we’ll recap the episode and give fans a place to discuss thethe episode in general or, if they’re watching it for the first time, whether or not it turned them into a fan. I personally watched the first few episodes of the series, but lost interest before things got, apparently, much more interesting. So, some of this will be new for me as well. Will these reruns be enough to win over a jaded viewer? Only time will tell.
The JRR for tonight’s airing of the Pilot will be posted, clearly, tonight. However, for now, here are a few ratings benchmarks to consider for CBS coming into tonight’s broadcast.
Ghost Whisperer (Lead-In)
Jericho should look to maintain a sizable portion of its Ghost Whisperer lead-in, especially in the key demo of 18-49.
Last Week’s Ratings for Ghost Whisperer: 4.54 Million Viewers (18-49 – 1.3/6)
Two Weeks Ago: 4.25 Million Viewers (18-49 – 1.1/5)
There are certain shows that are all hype and no follow through; they launch in September to rave reviews and high ratings, but immediately falter and fail to pull you in. For a brief period, I felt Ugly Betty was that show. And then, something clicked: the soap opera elements of the show’s plot were given resonance, and the series returned to its characters and settings that made it a success in the first place. And that’s really the hallmark of a series’ first season: does it end in worse or better shape than when it started. With perhaps the strongest melodramatic finale of the season (Take that, Grey’s), Ugly Betty proved that its initial success was no fluke, and its growth makes it deserving of Emmy consideration.
Attempting to sell people on NBC’s Friday Night Lights has always been difficult, as it is tough to describe just what makes it one of the best shows on television. Is it a football show, or is it just another teen drama? Does it value principles such as family or principles such as teen lust? Is it trying to be a broad political commentary on the War in Iraq, or rather a representation of isolated small town America? What I believe I’ve decided upon is that Friday Night Lights is that it is an amazing achievement because it manages to be all of these things: through a handheld camera lens, Peter Berg and Jason Katims have created a window into the lives of families, teenagers, high school football, and even the ramifications of world politics on small town America. The best new network drama of the Season, Friday Night Lights it without a doubt worthy of Emmy consideration.
I don’t quite understand why How I Met Your Mother was almost not renewed for a third season this past year. The show’s second season was a bit uneven, but it has a charm and wit that few multi-camera sitcoms can relate to. On a network where its most successful sitcoms star middle-aged men and women, How I Met Your Mother follows twenty-somethings adjusting to life out of college and in the real world. What began as a moderately intriguing premise of figuring out how Ted met his wife has turned into a cohesive and diverse comedy that has been able to exist outside of the cultural radar.
If there was a success story in television this past year, I believe that it would have to be Greg Berlanti. After the unfortunate cancellation of Everwood last year, Berlanti was out of a job. However, there was a show in need of assistance: ABC’s Brothers & Sisters was spiraling out of control with showrunner Marti Noxon and they needed some help. Berlanti was asked to step in, and he took a show headed off the rails and turned it into one of the strongest dramas of the season. Jobless a year ago, Berlanti now has two pilots ordered by ABC and a returning drama series with a plum timeslot.
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