With the new year, comes some new hope. A few days ago, IF Magazine broke an interesting story saying that a Jericho movie is in the works for theatrical release. But can we believe that?
In the article they talk about Executive producer/Director Jon Turteltaub being pretty jazzed that repeats of the first season are playing on The CW. He feels that if Jericho can hit it big on The CW, there’s a chance it could come back to broadcast TV with new episodes. He did emphasize the phrase “remarkable success,” which means that despite the loyal core of fans, there need to be a lot more viewers willing to fawn all over themselves about Season 1 repeats.
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But at the moment the bigger news is the potential development of a Jericho feature film for the big screen.
If you remember, Jericho debuted in 2006 and followed the events in a small Kansas town after a series of terrorist attacks left the US in disarray. The residents had to come together, fend for themselves and pretty much start all over in their own mini-society that had to deal with the new reality of it all. It starred Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Ashley Scott, Kenneth Mitchell, Brad Beyer, Alicia Coppola and Gerald McRaney.
Turtletaub said they are “developing” a Jericho feature. The movie would also not require you to have seen the show. It would cover a broader scope of events – beyond the town of Jericho itself. It would be a “full on American version of what’s going on beyond the town in Jericho.”
He further added that the TV cast would return.
Eh? That’s where I got confused. If the movie takes place outside of Jericho, how can the original cast return?
I don’t mean to be a naysayer but this doesn’t seem to add up.
How can the original cast return to a TV series-based movie that:
- Doesn’t take place where the TV show did.
- Yet still involves the same actors/characters.
Or is this just Turtletaub hoping to generate buzz? I don’t get it, but what I do get is that when asked if it would be a huge budget movie, instead of saying it had a budget, he indicated any budget would be huge compared to what they had for the weekly series.
Jericho repeats are airing Sunday nights on The CW. I don’t see the show generating phenomenal ratings on that night so I’m betting this is all just smoke and mirrors and we must be content with what we have at the moment, gang.
So what do you think: Could a movie do it for you? How would it work with the same cast in a different setting? Would you even want to get involved in another town or from a different angle (a national scale) of those events?
Let us know what you think.
Source: If Magazine, Behind the scenes image: CBS
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52 Comments
My family and I are huge Jericho fans and would love to see it go to the big screen and a third season. As far as holding our breaths, don’t think so. These things take time, but a Jericho movie is worth the wait and we trust that Jon Turtetltaub will do an awesome job on it. Thank you for the article on “the little show that just won’t die” LOL.
We never thought we would would get another episode after the first season, so I am willing to keep up hope for a movie. If you had seen the second season, you would know how the story could widen to encompass the rest of the country, while still involving the original residents of Jericho, KS.
I, for one, am excited at this news, and hopeful that it will actually materialize.
I think a larger scale movie will tell the story the producers wanted to tell. Originally there was supposed to be a webisode in a different city, but that got pulled in the whole digital debate.
Many movies have characters in different settings, so I think it can work.
I can’t wait to see Jericho on the big screen.
Gwen
http://www.jericho-kansas.com
If you watched the last episodes of Jericho, you can see that Texas and other eastern states are separated from the rest of the US. The Mississippi river seems to be the divider point. It would be a civil war. The fight will start there..in Texas, not Kansas. I think that is what they mean by starting in a different place.
I would watch this anytime, anywhere. It is so hard to find intelligent tv, Jericho was a breath of fresh air! Bring it on any way, I’ll be watching!
I think a Jericho Movie will work and Turtletaubs track record is outstanding. For him to make these statements he has or knows he can get this fully funded.
More Jericho in a Movie works for me!
Why am I responding to you, because Jericho is all that and the bag of snacks. This story is awesome and all that went into it, even the writers, actors,director’s,producers, stunts, etc. have been involved in it’s return and speak to their fans. Trust me this movie will be awesome.
Uh, gang… the author of this article is a fan of the show and he’s seen every episode.
Vic
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5aRAEXqgNOA&feature=channel_page
CW Currently airing Jericho and Sci Fi has added 16 episodes!
I sensed the author was a Jericho fan, I think it would make a great Movie and I still see it as continuation of what was lost in the Truncated second season, onto an American Civil War.
And could arc to Jericho Season 3 getting picked up!
Thanks Bruce for the article about the Jericho movie. I can understand your skepticism. But I am going to be the optimist and have faith in Jon T that he knows what he is doing and that he wouldn’t announce this without having faith that he can pull it off. After all this was first leaked back during the summer and is just know being officially announced. I can see them starting the movie from the very beginning and showing it from different perspectives like Skylar’s parents in New York and Dale’s mother in Atlanta, Chavez wherever he was, Tomarchio, Major Beck and what happened with him before he came to Jericho possibly what happened to his family from their perspective, etc. There are alot of ways they can go with this and I believe that Jon T is just the guy to pull it off. I hope that helps you see it a little better. Glad that you are a fan we can always use more Jericho Rangers!!!
A movie to wrap everything up would be nice, but sadly I relaly hope to not see the show come back. I really enjoyed the second season, but it seemed to have lost what made the first season so great. The first season was about this small town and all their interesting stories after this huge event. The second season went epic and lost it’s focus. I can only imagine how far away a third season would be from the original intent of the show. A movie could wrap up the story for good and I would like that.
Sorry Vic, but regardless of if he saw every episode or not he clearly wasn’t paying close attention. The last episode had a huge focus on Texas and other cities. If you remember two of the stars of the show including the main star aren’t even in Jericho when the series ended. So it’s fairly easy to bring back the cast and not focus on the town of Jericho.
I have thought that a movie was possible for a long time. Jericho got a second season. Firefly didn’t even get that and still got a movie.
Thanks so much for the article. I’m sure there are lots of different ideas on how the Jericho movie can work, although I’m sure most of us will be happy with anything, right?
I think a logical starting point would be with Jake and Hawkins in Texas. They did start a civil war, after all. The idea of Jake and Hawkins teaming up with Chavez to save the United States is wonderful. Whatever Jon Turtletaub comes up with is bound to make us happy, especially if Skeet Ulrich is involved.
Awesome news – Jericho Movie is going to be a hit and may spur another network to fund a season 3!
Hmmmm, could it be possible we might get a look at what Jake was doing in Afghanistan and Iraq? Could we possibly see what Ravenwood was doing at the same time? Just maybe, we will see what the next American civil war brings to the nation. Sounds to me like the possibilities are still there for a great story!
Thanks for writing about Jericho.
Debbie: I like your points.
Daniel F: I know what you’re saying about season 2. I feel the studio didn’t put a lot into it and gave it a minimalist effort. I wish they had really put more into it.
We liked it for what it was. I saw Texas as a grand scheme to create a great finish to the show. For me, it was about the townspeople of Jericho. There’s a reason that combination worked.
I’m with you, and as much as I’d like to see this go on. I just have to step back a bit and ask myself how Hollywood would back a product they’ve already turned their backs on. Twice. That’s all.
Obviously, my role as devils advocate has been played well.
BUT DO NOT MISTAKE MY DOUR PERSPECTIVE FOR NOT WANTING OR UNDERSTANDING the show.
Thanks gang. It’s good to see there are still people passionate about Jericho.
I WANT MY JERICHO BACK!!!
Unfortunately I want the first season back.
I sure do miss Skeet, Lennie, Ashley and Gerald McRaney.
I’m not sure ‘they’ could make a movie as perfect as first season was.
I LOVE Jericho
but, they stopped it, with a nice open ending, now let it alone!
a gigantic part of the power of this story was that it was in a small town that didn’t know what all happened, that’s the power
so if you are enlarging the scale to the whole us (or a big part of it), you gonna lose that atmosphere that made the series stand out
so, I say NO to a movie that does this, and even NO to another continue, it’s over now leave it alone!
Very excited about the prospect of a movie. If done right, I can totally see this setting up a season 3. The perfect scenario? The movie follows Jake, Lennie and Chavez straight into the heart of the civil war; a season three (full 20+ episodes) would continue with the war while bringing us back to Jericho… with all the characters and their stories we so loved in season one. It’s a long way off, but a fan can hope, can’t she? Thanks for the article, Bruce!
Awesome that Jon Turtletaub is bringing Jericho back! Was a great show with more story to tell.
Bruce, I would like to see the movie start in Jericho at the end of Season 2 – what I like to call the “real ending” where Jake and Chavez go off to get their friend, Hawkins. Then they return to Jericho where the three develop the “underground resistance” and we watch as the townsfolk get the word out about the corrupt government and connect with the Eastern States. And, Yes, New York and Skylar’s parents – their account of what it is like to trek from the East trying to get in touch with their daughter – would be a good source of intel. Jericho would be the home base of the resistance and that’s how you keep the townsfolk (same cast) in the movie while branching out to the rest of the country.
And then there are the International events . . . and then . . . and then . . . . Oh, the possibiilities abound. I can see 3 movies!!!
N2N2: Brilliance! Ya see, when I wrote the article I was fixated on how the heck would the original cast branch out of the small town and into a national scope and that, N2N2, is a great example you gave.
HAD I THOUGHT of that, I might not have been such a dour puss about the possibilities of movie.
Where the heck were you when I was writing my article!!??
If John Turtletaub says he’s developing a “Jericho” movie, I take him at his word. He does have a certain track record…
Originally the writers planned on showing other parts of the country that were hit, so I don’t see a problem. I would love to see more of the outside world. As for the same cast in a different setting, they can travel outside of Jericho, you know.
Marlene: Yea, yea… I know.
So, you doubt that Jericho could be a successful movie??? Not too worry… this is Jericho we’re talking about; and yes, it will be made; yes, the original cast will be in it; and yes, it has an excellent chance of being successful!
Keep watching for further developments, and I think you’ll be surprised how well it goes from here.
A Jericho movie would be so fantastic – there are endless possibilities and all those storylines to tie up. It would be really interesting to see how the ‘Next American Civil War’ is played out. The news of a Jericho movie really made my day and I for one just can’t wait to see it.
Contrary to some of the skepticism, I’m very excited and optimistic about this story, for a couple of reasons:
1) It’s from John T himself, not some minor-league blogger citing “anonymous sources”. (Earlier movie rumors turned out to be based on cast members talking about fan-chatter they had seen on the web.)
2) It’s consistent with what we’ve heard in other older information from the producers (i.e. Carol Barbee) and writers, both in terms of the plans for a movie, and the specific potential storyline.
I for one would love to see a big-screen story to flesh out more of what the writers wanted to do with Season 2 (such as what was going on in the east all this time, most likely based on Skylar’s parents’ attempt to get back from NYC), leading (hopefully) to a future TV season that can take us into the full-blown “civil war” storyline and beyond!
At any rate, this is the best news for Jericho fans in months!
ILJerichoFan
There are a lot of questions without answers that can be developed in the movie..I hope I can see here in Brazil as soon as possible
The people behind JERICHO have been quoted as saying the initial plans for Season 2 included Jericho, Cheyenne and New York stories. So that leads me to believe that a movie would probably incorporate those storylines and would need the characters/actors from the TV series to tell them. After all at the end of Season 2, Jake was in Texas, Hawkins in a Colorado supermax prison, and traffic was resuming across the country. It would not be inconceivable for people to be moving around once things settled.
I look forward to the continuation of this very interesting story, whether on the big screen or small.
PV544 – remember, at the end of the “aired” season 2, Hawkins was in Texas with Jake. In the unaired version of the finale, he was captured in Cheyenne and transferred to the top secret prison. If this movie comes to fruition, the writers will have to decide which version of the story to continue with….
ILJerichoFan
Hi Bruce! Sad that we could never have the ENTIRE cast back since some of the characters were killed off. But I’m still excited for the movie, anyway. I might like to add to what has already been suggested and state that a good way to get out of Jericho, but still be able to tie the town in would be to follow Jonah and his wayward gang of thieves and looters. And I would definitely like to see Jonah reunite with Hawkins and Jake to save the day, one more time, and perhaps find redemption!
Vic! We sure have some insightful readers around here.
What was so powerful about “Jericho” was that the town itself was always home base for the main character Jake — no matter how badly he messed up, no matter how directionless he may have been, he always found his way back to the place where family, home, values and love still existed for him.
And so, even with a movie that could be spread out across the U.S. or the world, the thing that resonates most is that Jericho — or that place that is comfortable, safe, and full of those things that really matter to us when the world is falling apart — speaks to our humanity and reminds us how much we really need each other when our baser instincts may try to convince us otherwise. I don’t know how Turteltaub would do it, but I think his movie, in some fashion, would keep Jericho, her people, and her qualities front-and-center and hammer home that, symbolically, it really is the center of the universe in a lot of ways, no matter what other physical locations a “Jericho” movie would take us.
Does that make sense? And, yes, N2N2 is quite brilliant, and we love her! Thanks for loving the show like we do.
Couldn’t agree with N2N2 more. I was gonna post just that before I read what you said. The real ending would of been the perfect leap off for a movie. Rescuing hawkins.
The Jericho movie is wishful thinking. Odds are what will happen is they wont find a studio willing to produce and finance the movie so they will execute Plan C and turn the script outline into novel. Which if it sells well might get some cheesy direct to DVD movie (seen War of the Worlds 2? Even heard of it? I havent seen it but reviews on IMDB.com are baaaaaaaad).
Ratings on CW are just bad they are abysmal. The worst on CW of any current show including reruns(and thats saying something). Even this week, episdode 9, when it wasnt going up against NFL games, it actually got WORSE ratings.
I hate to break it to fans who want a movie, but Season 2 was the movie. Jericho had 2 chances and blew it. It wont get a 3rd. No way anyone is going to cough up 40 million bones for a twice failed cult series.
I just started watching Jericho and it’s OK, so far, nothing special. Now I read about a movie taking place out of Jericho and I get excited – this would be so cool! If I don’t like anything so far is how cheap everything looks and they don’t leave the stupid town.
And what’s with the writer of this article? Are you so lacking in creativeness? I can already see at least 100 scenarios of how the movie can involve same characters and scenes outside Jericho, each of them involving the most obvious way – the characters, or at least the few main ones, LEAVING the stupid backwarded town. Why is it so impossible that you never thought of it??
@791
Just wondering… what’s a “backwarded town?”
Vic
Dang. My ‘creativeness’ switch must have been in the off position while writing!!
There are a TON of ways they could continue this story on a larger scale, while still keeping the original cast intact. Having the town of Jericho serve as a sort of headquarters for the resistance sounds like a great idea. I think that an entire third season could be made off the second Civil War alone.
I think there are many people that felt the show lost a little of its charm in the second season. However, I think that may have simply been a result of having a LOT of story crammed into a mere seven episodes. I’m sure they were trying to get as much out there as they could to satisfy the fans and at not leave everyone hanging too badly if more episodes weren’t ordered. I personally felt like the second seasons was packed full of good stuff, and didn’t try to stretch 10 minutes of story into a one-hour episode like some shows do.
Looking forward to the movie if there is one, but would much rather see this show return for another season or two. Great show and a great cast to back it up. It’s just a shame that CBS did such a terrible job of giving this show the success it deserved.
Though a movie would be great. I regret that it would have Skeet in it. He wasn’t too great in the series. But maybe his part would be less since it would include(as indicated) all of the U.S.
Fribble – Skeet made the show. I doubt anyone else could have done such an excellent job of the character. I am looking forward to the movie and have no doubt that if it does happen, Skeet will be the star of it and the real fans would not want it any other way. The entire cast for the most part were great but Skeet was the one who made the show.
This was the BEST series they had going and then … not unlike FOX and Joss Wheedon’s FIREFLY… they just stopped!!!
I would love to see the series re-visited with the original cast where it left off …but that’ll never happene. Oh well!!!
After the news broke about a movie for JERICHO, Rubber Poultry (Jason Moore) confirmed through Carol Barbee that this news was indeed true. You can read his post on his website – http://www.savejerichoagain.com
SEMPER FI
I miss Skeet and Lennie and Mac.
Lee, I can’t find RP’s post.
Can you help me?
Thanks!
Hey Lisa here is the link to the blog from RP about the movie: http://www.savejerichoagain.com/2009/01/jericho-coming-to-a-theater-near-you-1-14-09/
THANK YOU, Debbie.
I wonder….Do they have the money for the film yet? Does anyone know?
Doesn’t anyone remember what happened? It seemed as though that the town of Jericho were the ones that would start the “revolution.” They have contacts in Cheyenne, and it seems that most were planning on doing something there… that is were the second season was gearing toward…
So why not?
A movie would be good. A season 3 would be better. The movie premis generates some questions.
All we have at the moment is an NBC Jerichlone about 4 people in an apartment house trying to survive. How exciting can you get ?
I’d love to see a Jericho movie more than anything! Jericho was special– it was set apart from all the other shows around– in a good way. It made you think while not straining yourself. A movie could regain its popularity, and maybe even bring it back for good?
I think Jericho has more to tell–I don’t think its story is done. I don’t care about the setting, I care about the characters.
Death to all infidels, heathens, Crusaders, green-eyed redheads, astronauts and one-legged jackals of the Easterndesert!! allah ahkbar!!
May the curse of Mashsharmuta the Wise bring down upon the heads of all who canceled this show the many wails and weeping and gnashing of teeth of the prophet Melumaji!! allah ahkbar!!
>How can the original cast return to a TV series-based movie that:Doesn’t take place where the TV show did. involves the same characters.<
Follow the characters where they came from and where they went. The show was about events over a much wider area than Kansas.
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