UPDATED info at bottom of post
I have a special love for the show Jericho, which was, by the by, my entré into social media.
It was such a great post-apocalyptic drama, which CBS screwed up in scheduling and then canceled at literally the last minute, after the season finale aired. Fans rallied, sent tons of peanuts and created arguably the most active online fandom ever (maybe all the Whedonites combined are larger), in the end convincing CBS to give the show a second chance.
An abbreviated second season was aired, with the full season two storyline condensed into eight episodes with one helluva ending. There. I just got chills thinking about it.
Anyhow, the fans still didn’t give up. They’ve pushed for a season three, a movie, a comic book, anything to continue the story of an America riven in two by traitors with nukes.
So I happily read an e-mail from the Jericho Rangers group on Facebook, sent by Dawn Aker Braddock, who spoke with Gwen (Ratkeeper), who’s at Comic Con in San Diego.
Despite the fact that the show hasn’t been on the air for a year and a half, there was a Jericho Panel, with Dan Shotz, Karim Zreik, Matthew Federman, Stephen Chbosky, Jonathan Steinberg and Lennie James (go Hawkins!). Gwen reported that the room, which can hold more than 400 people, was three-quarters full.
Here’s the meat of the note:
The Producers said the movie is very much alive and that they are looking for the right story line that they can use to finalize the sale of the movie and the comic book is key to that.
There will be 6 issues not 4 and they will be monthly starting in October 2009. The book will be a bound set of the 6 comic books. Karim and Dan spent time with Gwen and her volunteers at the Jericho booth before and after the panel. They even signed some items for fans.
There was a woman from CBS with the group who was amazed at the Jericho fans organization and marketing. Gwen placed Devils Due stickers on the back of the Jericho business cards and DDP was getting large numbers at their booth.
The key to solidifying the movie will be comic book sales and our efforts to reach fans not online who want more Jericho. We will be finalizing Operation Comic Book and it will be launched next week.
Another comment made by Karim and Dan was the ratings for Jericho on the CW were very good, especially for re-runs on a Sunday night. The ratings have been noticed by the CBS executives and that is why the comic book is going forward with more episodes.
Rangers are needed to step into the breach and help raise awareness of the comics and movie, the note went on to say. If you’re a Facebook member and want to keep tabs on the news, you can join the Jericho Rangers group here.
The Rangers need volunteers for at least these following comic conventions: Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, London, Toronto, New York, Dallas, Orlando. Contact Dawn through the Facebook group linked to above if you can help out.
She points out:
Our show was cancelled 16 months ago yet they send the producers, writers and major star to launch the comic book. This is business and that adds up to a larger plan. CBS had a pr person there for the panel and that she, dan and karim stopped by the jericho fan table and signed things. They took the time to stop by the fan booth for Jericho, that is huge in the business.
Here’s a full list of of conventions, including many others beyond those listed above. Dawn wanted to specify that the volunteers would man fan tables. The conventions listed above are the most likely to get anyone from Jericho on panels or for appearances, though even that’s not guaranteed.