Fallen Jericho patriarch Gerald McRaney has been cast as the estranged pop of Angie Harmon's Lindsay on Women's Murder Club, sources confirm to me exclusively. Dad is described as a dirty ex-cop who has few friends on the force — and that includes his daughter. The two have been estranged for seven years, and his mere presence gives her the creeps. She even refuses to call him "Dad," which is never a good thing (unless you're a Simpson). McRaney's onboard for one of this season's three post-strike episodes, although he could reappear next season — if there is a next season. Fleshing out Lindsay's personal life appears to be a top priority for new Club boss Robert Nathan. In addition to a dad, Harmon's bloodhound will be getting a new love interest in the form of The 4400's Joel Gretsch (Ausiello Report 3/17).
read more
Question: Do you think that Jericho can be saved? I hear there is a large outcry of disbelief and a growing campaign to save the show. If CBS doesn't bring it back, could it go to another network?
Answer: As I noted earlier, Jericho is not the sort of show to be picked up by another network. It was produced by Paramount, which is part of the same corporation as CBS, so they're both buyer and producer, and there's really nowhere else for it to go. (The CW? Hardly.) Can it be saved? Despite the impressive outcry, doubtful. As Michael Ausiello has reported, CBS has made some noise about providing closure for fans, so let's see where that goes. If it were up to me, I'd commission a TV-movie finale, something like Jericho: Aftermath, built around a memorial tribute to fallen town hero Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) at which point we'd learn what happened to the rest of the characters the fans cared about.
A final note on Jericho for now, to demonstrate the range of mail I've gotten on the
read more
See?! Nothing good can come of killing off Gerald McRaney! Can we all take a moment of silence here? I am completely disappointed in today's announcement that Jericho will not return for another season. I know this show was a gamble. I know Mama Green was getting on some of our nerves. I know a small Kansas town may not appeal to the masses. But… come on! I accepted the decision to end Gilmore Girls (although, not thrilled with Logan's exit). I welcomed the idea of a future finish line for Lost. I gladly shook off The O.C. when it left us last year. But I can't let this go — at least not this week. In fact, I'm taking out all my frustration on Angel's candy bin. (Is CBS going to pay my gym bill?) If you're a Jericho fan, you've been watching Skeet Ulrich and Co. cope post-mushroom cloud. And after a rocky start, hopefully you'll agree with me when I say the writing and acting only got better as the season went on. We got answers slowly but surely, we had characters with re...
read more
If finales are supposed to bring all the emotion from the season and combine it with a few answers, a tragedy and a reason to know more, Jericho rose to the occasion — at least for me. There was no teenager story line, there was no Mary Bailey hanging off Eric's arm, there were no bad decisions from Gray. This was for the leaders. "You can go straight to hell."I'm still in shock as I mourn Johnston's death and so upset that he was the one to go. I knew a big death was coming, someone major, someone whose death would upset most viewers, but what are we going to do without Gerald McRaney? When that tank rolled in, I felt victorious from my couch… until I saw Papa Green barely moving. I guess this is Jake's time to step up and make a stand. Defend his home. Again, this episode was shot really well. I really liked how they mixed in the scenes from Eric's wedding with the present day. Two of those interconnected scenes stood out for me: Jake's best-man speech combined with his ...
read more
Someone on Jericho will die this week so that the show may live on. It sounds heartless. But the producers of the CBS drama about life in a small Kansas town after a nuclear catastrophe are sacrificing one of the series' regulars in the battle-fueled finale as part of a long-term plan to take the story in a new direction. Executive producer Carol Barbee will only describe the victim as "somebody who had a deal to be here for the next five years." Is it bad boy turned local hero Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich)
read more
