This time there will be no revival. Ten months after CBS famously revived “Jericho” following a huge fan protest, the network has axed the apocalyptic drama again, days before the show’s second-season finale.
On Friday, CBS confirmed what media people had long expected. The show, which returned for a seven-episode run last month, simply did not draw good enough ratings to merit a third-season renewal.
In fact, its numbers were down compared to last season. When CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler revived the show last May, she warned the show’s rabid fans that ratings would have to improve to warrant another season.
“The March 25th episode of Jericho will be the series finale," reads a statement from CBS. "Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more.”
“Jericho” averaged a 2.3 rating this year in the 10 p.m. Tuesday timeslot, down 18 percent from last season’s 2.8. Its decline was even steeper in households, down 28 percent from a 6.0 rating to a 4.3.
Though the show did very well in online viewing, growing into one of the top downloads on CBS.com and iTunes, that wasn’t enough to justify the return of the show, whose costs had already been cut for season two.
“Jericho” becomes the latest casualty for CBS in what’s become a real problem timeslot.
The network has aired more than a half-dozen failed shows in Tuesday at 10 over the past three seasons. Even stalwarts like “The Amazing Race” failed to find an audience in the timeslot.
But it’s unlikely another fan protest will erupt over this year’s cancellation. Last year “Jericho” saw its ratings fall off after a long midseason hiatus, after which it was also hurt by the return of “American Idol.”
After CBS canceled the show at its May upfront, fans sent some 40,000 pounds of nuts to the CBS offices in an homage to a character who uttered “Nuts!” in the show’s season finale.
In part, the fans protested the lack of finality to the show’s finale, which ended in a cliffhanger. This time, CBS was prepared for the possibility of cancellation.
The network directed the show’s producers to prepare two endings for this season, one a more open-ended cliffhanger, had the show been renewed, and one a close-ended finale, for if it was canceled.
The close-ended finale will air tomorrow, but even at just a two-season run, “Jericho’s” influence could last much longer. It set a precedent with its un-cancellation and has inspired many desperate fan protests since, from a Mars Bar campaign by devotees of the CW’s late “Veronica Mars” to a sunflower seed barrage from fans of USA’s canceled “The 4400.”
