post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
television series, which centers on the residents of the fictional city of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of a nuclear attack on 23 major cities in the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. It was produced by
CBS Paramount Network Television
CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...
and Junction Entertainment, with executive producers
Jon Turteltaub
Jonathan Charles Turteltaub (born August 8, 1963) is an American film director and producer.
Life and career
Turteltaub was born on August 8, 1963 in New York City, one of two children born to comedy writer Saul Turteltaub (best known for his ...
,
Stephen Chbosky
Stephen Chbosky (; born January 25, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, novelist, television writer, and television producer. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel ''The Perks of Being a Wal ...
, and
Carol Barbee
Carol Denise Barbee (born May 22, 1959, in Concord, North Carolina) is an Emmy winning American television writer, actress and producer.CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
. It was cancelled after its first full season because of low ratings. A fan campaign persuaded the network to bring the show back for another season, of seven episodes, after which it was cancelled again. In November 2008, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' reported that
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
would air repeats of ''Jericho'' to replace the canceled series '' Valentine''. In 2007, ''Jericho'' was ranked number 11 on ''TV Guides Top Cult Shows Ever. In 2009, plans were announced for a feature film based on the series, that was later cancelled, and a continuation of the ''Jericho'' storylines in a
comic-book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...
series. IDW Publishing released a new comic-book series for Season 3 (in 2009) and Season 4 in August 2012.
Synopsis
First season
The storyline centers on the residents of Jericho, a small northwest
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
town, in the aftermath of a nuclear attack on 23 major cities in the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. The series begins with a visible nuclear detonation of unknown origin in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Despite initial belief that it was an accident, Dale Turner, one of the characters, receives a phone call from his mother in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The call is then cut out by the sound of a nuclear blast. Upon showing this to others, it is revealed that the bombings were deliberate. Problems are compounded by loss of power and modern communications, effectively isolating Jericho. Later, power is restored to Jericho by what is alluded to as the efforts of the U.S. government but an
electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. Depending upon the source, the origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic fie ...
(EMP) from an unknown source disables all electronics.
While the first few episodes are about restoring life after the attacks, about halfway through the season some of the citizens meet with citizens of a nearby town, New Bern. At first, relations are established, resulting in a trade of windmills (for power), built in New Bern's factory, for supplies for food from Jericho's farms and salt from its mine (neither of which New Bern could supply on its own). Relations sour as New Bern scapegoats Jericho for its problems and the New Bern
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
eventually declares war, leading to the season's climax.
Several themes regularly addressed in the show include the gathering of information, community identity, public order, limited resources, the value of family, hardships of fatherhood and internal and external threats. The show also features several mysteries involving the backgrounds of major characters, the perpetrators of the attack and the extent of damage to the United States and its government.
The pivotal character in this story is Jake Green, the 32-year-old son of Mayor Johnston Green. Jake had fled the town of Jericho five years earlier, when he became mixed up with the wrong people and was involved in questionable activity. He briefly returns home to claim his inheritance, before being stranded by the catastrophe. After a somewhat awkward return home and a tense reunion with his father, Jake steps up to become a leader in Jericho, fighting to protect the town and its citizens. As the people of Jericho struggle to survive in a changed world, most remain unaware that one of the newest residents, Robert Hawkins, knows a lot more about the attacks than he is letting on. It is later revealed that he is in possession of an unexploded nuclear bomb that was supposed to be used in the attack but how he obtained it and what side he is on remain anything but clear.
Gray Anderson encounters a
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(FEMA) camp outside of
Topeka
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...
, where he learns that the attack on
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
was foiled by alert
New York City Police
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...
who shot the bomber before he could detonate the nuclear bomb that he had in the back of a van. Mayor Green reports that the NYPD captured the van in New York with a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb on board but
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
has been bombed. On the way back from the FEMA camp, Anderson's car is stolen by 12 looters and he is forced to walk home to Jericho. Anderson also reports that Lawrence, Kansas has been attacked. Robert Hawkins receives a morse code message on a ham radio stating that Denver, Atlanta,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
and several more cities not shown on screen have been attacked. A black box flight data recorder that Jake recovers from a crashed airliner indicates that
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
is non-existent, a mushroom cloud is rising into the atmosphere and that flashes have also been seen towards
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
A radiation-burn victim walks into Jericho from Denver, leading a rescue party to Bear Lake but the 20 radiation-burn victims there are dead. Before the unnamed radiation-burn victim dies, while he is interrogated by Hawkins, it is revealed that he is an accomplice of Hawkins and that there is a traitor in the attack. In the season one finale, armed residents of New Bern attack Jericho with crude
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
made at the factories in New Bern. The mortar bombardment injure people in Jericho. Jake and Johnston Green along with Robert Hawkins lead a counter-attack on New Bern's forces outside of town, killing many of the attackers; Johnston Green is mortally wounded. Army units arrive to separate the combatants just as the season ends.
Second season
The military forces of the new Allied States of America (ASA), which now govern most of what was formerly the
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, except the independent Republic of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, have restored order to Jericho and its hinterland, putting an abrupt end to the conflict between Jericho and its rival town, New Bern. As a semblance of normal returns to Jericho, the plot shifts away from day-to-day survival to life and political intrigue under the ASA government.
The garrison commander of the ASA Army's newpost in Jericho, Major Edward Beck, asks Jake to accept appointment as the Sheriff of Jericho and the county. Jake reluctantly accepts the appointment with reservations about the ASA government's intentions. Known only to Hawkins and a select few, the September attacks were neither a foreign nor domestic terrorist act but a conspiracy of unknown perpetrators within the highest level of the former U.S. government, including the president and the secretary of defense of the new ASA government in Cheyenne. Hawkins must calculate his every move to avoid capture, piece together the trail of evidence and bring the truth to light, before the conspiracy's mastermind buries it forever.
Jericho's residents deal with the reality of the new ASA government based in
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...
. Welcomed as saviors, the government's military and mercenary agents transform life in Jericho into a repressive
police state
A police state describes a state where its government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exe ...
, led by a
private security
A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors.
Overview
Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Stat ...
contracting firm, Ravenwood, owned by Jennings & Rall, which has ties to and sponsors the leaders of the ASA government. When a Ravenwood contractor kills Bonnie, a deaf farm girl from the outskirts of Jericho, to conceal his embezzlement, the town is put on the edge of revolt as Jake and the deputies protect Mimi, the only witness to Bonnie's murder and the embezzlement.
Jake can no longer tolerate the methods of Ravenwood and the ASA government in Jericho and leads an underground movement to remove them from power in the town. He is arrested by Major Beck and interrogated. Jake refuses to break and escapes with the help of his mother and other town residents. The citizens of the town rebel against the local ASA soldiers. All of this causes Major Beck, a decorated former
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
officer, to question his duty to a government that would treat its citizens the way the new ASA government is doing. He orders his men to stand down and return to their garrison.
Hawkins tries to transport the bomb to his contacts in the reborn
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
. The ASA military is tipped off and after a brief chase, seizes the weapon. Hawkins narrowly escapes and the ASA military then transports the weapon to Cheyenne for safekeeping. Hawkins makes contact with Jake and the two travel to Cheyenne, where they retake the bomb from J&R contractors. Hawkins is wounded in a brief gun battle. The two make it to the Republic of Texas embassy in Cheyenne with the only undetonated bomb (in ASA territory) from the September attacks. The ASA's military is right behind them. The Republic of Texas is considered the
swing state
In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pre ...
in the struggle for power between the
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...
, which is led by the legitimate surviving United States government, now governed from
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
and the Allied States. Texas has not decided which government to back. The Texan ambassador in Cheyenne shelters Jake and Hawkins at his embassy.
The ambassador informs his military forces at the embassy to tell the ASA forces outside the fence that any incursion into the embassy by ASA troops will be considered an act of war against the Republic of Texas. The ambassador manages quickly to smuggle Jake, Hawkins and the bomb to the Cheyenne airport. At the airport he secures a small diplomatic jet plane to carry Jake, Hawkins and the device to Texas. While they are ''en route'', two ASA
F-15
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
fighters intercept Jake and Hawkins and order them to turn around or be shot down. When Jake refuses to be escorted back to Cheyenne, the two jets drop back to open fire. Two Republic of Texas
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
F-16
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
fighters suddenly appear and shoot down the ASA planes. Jake and Hawkins make it to Texas with the evidence and Hawkins ominously intones that a
second American Civil War
The "Second American Civil War" is an umbrella term used by academics in order to reclassify historical eras of significant political violence in the history of the United States as a "civil war" or, more commonly, to discuss the potential outbre ...
was always coming and the two of them have made history by giving the United States a fighting chance in the war to come.
Third season
Season 3 is not a television show, but a six-part comic book series "from the minds" of the original ''Jericho'' production team and written by the ''Jericho'' writing team.
In April 2013, ''Jericho'' creator Stephen Chbosky revealed during a chat with Nerdacy that talks about a live-action season 3 remain ongoing. In his statement, Chbosky noted, "you know
William Morris Endeavor
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The compa ...
Agency, who represents me, executive producer Jon Turteltaub and many other people, and they've been talking to
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and you never know. I can't say what it will be in season 3, but I'm excited for the new developments."
In 2017, Skeet Ulrich gave a reason why the show didn't move to Netflix:
Fourth season
Season 4 is a continuation of the comic book series released by IDW Publishing on August 15, 2012. The five issue story picked up after the events of ''Jericho'': Season Three. The comic was written by Kalinda Vazquez, and the process was overseen by the television series' writers.
Characters and setting
Characters
''Jericho'' features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
of characters, along with a number of minor and recurring roles. The series website listed eleven main cast members. Alicia Coppola moved from a recurring role to a regular character in February 2008. Gerald McRaney did not have a regular role in season 2. Esai Morales was only present in season 2.
*
Skeet Ulrich
Skeet Ulrich (; born Bryan Ray Trout on January 20, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in popular 1990s films, including Billy Loomis in ''Scream'' (1996), Chris Hooker in '' The Craft'' (1996) and Vincent Lopiano in ''A ...
Lennie James
Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...
Ashley Scott
Ashley McCall Scott (born July 13, 1977) is an American actress and model, best known for providing the voice and motion capture for Maria Miller in the video games ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and ''The Last of Us Part II'' (2020). She has also a ...
Michael Gaston
Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho'', and appeared in the first episode of ''The Sopranos'' as Alex Mahaffey, a compulsive g ...
Gerald McRaney
Gerald Lee McRaney (born August 19, 1947) is an American television and film actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows ''Simon & Simon'', '' Major Dad'', ''Promised Land'' and ''House of Cards''. He currently stars ...
Pamela Reed
Pamela Reed (born April 2, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for playing Arnold Schwarzenegger's hypoglycemic police partner in the 1990 movie ''Kindergarten Cop'' and as the matriarch Gail Green in ''Jericho''. She appeared as Marlene ...
as
Gail Green
This is a list of characters from the television series ''Jericho'', which premiered in 2006 on CBS in the United States.
Main characters
Jake Green
* Portrayed by Skeet Ulrich
* Appears in: ''Season 1'', ''Season 2''
* Status: Alive
Johnsto ...
(main season 1, recurring season 2)
*
Sprague Grayden
Sprague Grayden (born July 21, 1980) is an American actress. She played schoolteacher Heather Lisinski in the television drama ''Jericho'', Karen Kawalski in ''John Doe'', first daughter Olivia Taylor in the television thriller '' 24'', and Kri ...
as
Heather Lisinski
This is a list of characters from the television series ''Jericho'', which premiered in 2006 on CBS in the United States.
Main characters
Jake Green
* Portrayed by Skeet Ulrich
* Appears in: ''Season 1'', ''Season 2''
* Status: Alive
Johnsto ...
*
Shoshannah Stern
Shoshannah Stern (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and writer.
Life and career
She was born in Walnut Creek, California, into an observant Jewish and fourth-generation Deaf family, the daughter of Ron Stern and Hedy Marilyn Stern (née U ...
as
Bonnie Richmond
This is a list of characters from the television series ''Jericho'', which premiered in 2006 on CBS in the United States.
Main characters
Jake Green
* Portrayed by Skeet Ulrich
* Appears in: ''Season 1'', ''Season 2''
* Status: Alive
Johnsto ...
*
Brad Beyer
Brad Beyer (born September 20, 1973) is an American actor. He may be best-known for his role in the CBS series '' Jericho'', playing Stanley Richmond.
Early and personal life
Beyer was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he graduated from Catho ...
Alicia Coppola
Alicia Coppola is an American actress. She became known for playing Lorna Devon in the soap opera '' Another World'' from 1991 to 1994. Afterwards, she made regular and guest star appearances in various television series, notably ''Jericho'' an ...
as Mimi Clark (recurring season 1, main season 2)
*
Erik Knudsen
Erik Knudsen (born March 25, 1988) is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Daniel Matthews in ''Saw II'', Alec Sadler in ''Continuum'' and Dale Turner in the CBS series ''Jericho''.
Life and career
Knudsen was born on March 25, 1988 i ...
as
Dale Turner Dale Turner may refer to:
* Dale Turner (cricketer), Australian cricketer
* Dale Turner (trumpeter), American trumpet player with the American new wave band Oingo Boingo
* Dale Turner (songwriter)
Dale Turner is an American singer-songwriter, ...
*
Esai Morales
Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips (1987). His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' ...
Emily Rose Emily Rose may refer to:
* Emily Rose (actress) (born 1981), American television actress/voice actress
* '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'', a 2005 supernatural horror crime film about demonic possession, loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel ...
as
Trish Merrick
This is a list of characters from the television series ''Jericho'', which premiered in 2006 on CBS in the United States.
Main characters
Jake Green
* Portrayed by Skeet Ulrich
* Appears in: ''Season 1'', ''Season 2''
* Status: Alive
Johnsto ...
(season 2 only)
*
Richard Speight, Jr.
Richard Speight Jr. (born September 4, 1969) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer who is known for a variety of roles including CBS TV series ''Jericho'', '' The Agency'', and the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers''. Spei ...
as
Bill Kohler
This is a list of characters from the television series ''Jericho'', which premiered in 2006 on CBS in the United States.
Main characters
Jake Green
* Portrayed by Skeet Ulrich
* Appears in: ''Season 1'', ''Season 2''
* Status: Alive
Johns ...
Setting
Jericho, Kansas is a
fictional town
A fictional city refers to a town, city or village that is invented for fictional stories and does not exist in real life, or which people believe to exist without definitive proof, such as Plato's account of Atlantis.
Cultures have always had l ...
. It is approximately 47 miles east of the Kansas–Colorado border (which would put it near the location of the real
Colby, Kansas
Colby is a city in and the county seat of Thomas County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,570.
History
In 1882, a post office was established near the center of Thomas County. Area homesteaders li ...
). However, a map (episode 3: Jericho is Ness City, Kansas on the map) in the series seems to show Jericho near the junctions of
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
and
US 83
U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...
. That would place it near the real Oakley. Jericho is 90 miles west of the also fictional Rogue River, Kansas, and around 330 miles from the real Wichita. New Bern, Kansas is a neighboring fictional town which starts a war with Jericho in the wake of the national destruction. Jericho is served by one state highway and the (fictional) Cedar Run Road.
The city's population is mentioned to be almost 5,000 as mentioned in season 1 Ep. 2 "Fallout" (1,000 in 1957). But after the great war between New Bern and Jericho, the population was reduced to 3,000. The city has one grocery store, owned by Gracie Leigh (
Beth Grant
Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her role as Gracie L ...
).
Jericho is run by two mayors throughout the series. Johnston Green (
Gerald McRaney
Gerald Lee McRaney (born August 19, 1947) is an American television and film actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows ''Simon & Simon'', '' Major Dad'', ''Promised Land'' and ''House of Cards''. He currently stars ...
) was the mayor at the show opening and for most of season one, but loses the election in the show. Gray Anderson (
Michael Gaston
Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho'', and appeared in the first episode of ''The Sopranos'' as Alex Mahaffey, a compulsive g ...
), the other electoral candidate, wins the election in the show.
Production
Early development
The series originated as a feature film idea of co-creators
Jonathan Steinberg
Jonathan Steinberg (8 March 1934 – 4 March 2021) was the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of European History Emeritus and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania.
Career
Steinberg received his undergraduate degree ...
and Josh Schaer: a
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
plot set amidst the trappings of "a little character drama" movie, in the vein of ''
The Day After
''The Day After'' is an American television film that first aired on November 20, 1983 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. More than 100 million people, in nearly 39 million households, watched the film durin ...
'', '' Threads'', and '' Testament''. However, they soon realized that a two- or two-and-a-half-hour-long film would still not carry the necessary length they felt such a concept required to properly explore the setting and the characters. Thus, Schaer and Steinberg decided to re-conceive the entire project as a television series, producing a treatment out of the original feature screenplay. Director Jon Turteltaub and producer
Carol Barbee
Carol Denise Barbee (born May 22, 1959, in Concord, North Carolina) is an Emmy winning American television writer, actress and producer.ecould use some girls, a little kissing, and some laughs." Another significant developmental influence were the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
and
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, and the sense of " einga spectator to a disaster, while not quite being part of it." Co-creator Steinberg in particular felt that after 9/11, the United States saw some of the "best of people," and after Hurricane Katrina, some of the "worst of people," and sought to include both in the fabric of ''Jericho'', with Katrina providing "lots of inspiration" for the show's overall premise.
Filming locations
Although Jericho is set in northwestern Kansas, most of the series was filmed on a studio backlot in
Van Nuys, California
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, ...
. The pilot and all episodes involving New Bern, Kansas, were filmed in
Fillmore, California
Fillmore is a small city in Ventura County, California, United States, in the Santa Clara River Valley. In an agricultural area with rich, fertile soil, Fillmore has a historic downtown that was established when the Southern Pacific built the r ...
. Filming also occurred in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
, including in front of the
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, for scenes involving the Allied States capital of
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...
. The final episode to air included portions filmed at the
Santa Anita race track
Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...
. Some filming also took place in Canada and in Long Beach, California (specifically along Alamitos Bay). The commentary for some episodes on the ''Jericho'' Season 1 DVD includes the location of their filming.
First season
The first season of the show premiered Wednesday, September 20, 2006 and concluded with a
cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
episode on May 9, 2007. Lackluster ratings prompted concern, as the show hit a ratings low in early April. The ratings were down 25% when the series returned following the nearly three-month hiatus. During its first season, it ranked 48th, with an average of 9.5 million viewers in the United States. Other Wednesday night programs it competed with were ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
'', ''
Deal or No Deal
''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...
'', and
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's comedy block.
Though the producers seemed confident that the program would be picked up for a second season, CBS officially announced ''Jerichos cancellation on May 16, 2007.
Several online communities, including the official ''Jericho'' forums, launched campaigns in an effort to revive the show. Fans also sent just over 20
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
s of nuts to CBS headquarters; this referred to a scene from the season one finale "
Why We Fight
''Why We Fight'' is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in th ...
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
. The peanuts and other proceeds from the donations were donated to charities, including the rebuilding effort in
Greensburg, Kansas
Greensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the city was 740. It is home to the world's largest hand-dug well. On the evening of May 4, 2007, Greens ...
, a town that was largely destroyed by a tornado in 2007.
Second season
In a response posted on the ''Jericho'' forum, CBS president
Nina Tassler
Nina Tassler is an American television executive and producer. She was most recently the chairwoman of CBS Entertainment until 2015.
Life and career
Tassler was born in New York City to a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother who converted t ...
acknowledged the fan response, stating, "We hope to develop a way to provide closure to ... the Jericho story." CBS officials acknowledge the campaign was the largest the network had seen using digital means to protest a show cancellation. President and CEO
Leslie Moonves
Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...
acknowledged that he was filtering emails from ''Jericho'' fans, while senior vice president of communications Chris Ender said, "You have to tip your hat to their ability to get attention and make some noise."
In June 2007, ''Jericho'' executive producer Carol Barbee announced that CBS was discussing the possibility of the show's return for an eight-episode mid-season run. A day later, Tassler posted an announcement on the forum stating that seven new episodes of ''Jericho'' had been commissioned as a
midseason replacement
In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a s ...
for the 2007-2008 television season, with the possibility of an extension based on viewership. The last of these seven episodes was broadcast on March 25, 2008, and was not affected directly by the
2007 Writers Guild of America strike
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...
.
On August 2, 2007, a video was released on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
showing clips from the first day back at work for the ''Jericho'' cast and crew. It included a "thank you" from the cast and crew to the fans for their efforts to revive the show. Several months later, CBS released trailers announcing the second-season premiere, including Morse code spelling "SPREAD THE WORD".
''Jericho'' returned for its second season on February 12, 2008 to mostly favorable reviews but with the lowest numbers the ratings had seen yet. In the early days of January 2008, the first three episodes of the second season leaked on the internet via a DVD screener source. The show's second season has also premiered in Canada on CTV, mirroring the US broadcast.
The first two episodes of the 2008 season received the lowest ratings to date for the series. ''Jerichos ratings did increase somewhat for its third episode, but dropped to fairly consistent but still low ratings. The second season averaged 6.2 million viewers.
On March 21, 2008, CBS announced that the network would not be renewing ''Jericho'' for a third season. CBS entertainment boss
Nina Tassler
Nina Tassler is an American television executive and producer. She was most recently the chairwoman of CBS Entertainment until 2015.
Life and career
Tassler was born in New York City to a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother who converted t ...
stated that "The March 25 episode ... will be the series finale. Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more. We thank an engaged and spirited fan base for keeping the show alive this long, and an outstanding team of producers, cast and crew that went through creative hoops to deliver a compelling, high-quality second season. ... We're proud of everyone's efforts." According to SyFy's source, two endings were shot for the March 25 episode. One involved a cliffhanger leading into a third season, while the other would wrap up the series and provide closure for fans who had worked to secure the series' return. One unidentified source said, "There are a lot of people here who really care about what happens to ''Jericho'', and I think we all wanted to see it succeed. Numbers are numbers, and BShad to do what BShad to do."
Post second season
In early 2008, executive producer Carol Barbee said talks were ongoing to find another home for ''Jericho'', perhaps on a cable network, and raised the possibility of the
Sci Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...
and broadcast networks such as
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
(co-owned by CBS). Other possibilities may include a television or theatrical movie.
In April 2008, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' website reported that
CBS Paramount Network Television
CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...
held talks with
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
about finding a new home for ''Jericho''. Possibilities included an arrangement whereby Comcast would pay part of the series' production expenses and then offer episodes in High-Definition before they air on CBS.
''Jericho'' fans continued efforts to resurrect the series, including a one-page advertisement in the April 25, 2008 edition of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine. A second advertisement appeared in ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', as well as banner ads on the ''Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'' websites.
In January 2009,
TV.com
TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...
reported that a ''Jericho'' feature film is in development.
Since then there has been no film or further TV episodes.
''Jericho'' comic series
Season 3
In March 2009,
Devil's Due Publishing
Devil's Due Publishing (often abbreviated as DDP) is an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned proper ...
announced that all story lines from the TV series would be continued in a
comic book series
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
. Updated 26 April 2020. In November 2009, Devil's Due Publishing released the first issue of the six-issue continuation of the ''Jericho'' saga. As of May 2011,
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
re-released the first three comics as ''Jericho: Redux'', as well as issues 4, 5 and 6, thus completing its publication. In August 2011, IDW collected all 6 comics into a 144-page graphic novel entitled ''Jericho Season 3: Civil War''.
As the publisher's description, posted at Amazon.com reads:
Continuing right where the Jericho Season 2 television cliffhanger ended! This specially priced edition collects the first three issues in one affordable package, to prep you for the series' continuation, also available this month. Jake Green and Robert Hawkins are in the safe haven of Texas with the last remaining bomb from the first attack. From amidst the chaos, they're contacted by John Smith, the mastermind behind the first strike, seeking aid. As the Cheyenne army bears down on them, they must decide whether to side with their former enemy to fight a greater one ...
Season 4
In April 2012, IDW announced a new series of Jericho comics, entitled ''Jericho Season 4'', which picks up after the events of ''Jericho Season 3''. The five-issue series, written by Kalinda Vazquez, with artwork by Andrew Currie and covers by Tim Bradstreet, was overseen by the original television series' writing staff. As the publisher's description, posted at Amazon.com reads:
Overseen by the original writing staff of the television series, Jericho is back with a vengeance, with a whole new chapter of stories told in the show's official continuity. Jericho Season Four picks up where Season Three left off. Though Jake and Hawkins are happy to be back in Jericho, the challenges they face are daunting. Not only are they fugitives in their own hometown, but they find themselves forced to play host to the newest member of the Jericho community - John Smith ... a man who some know as a friend of the resistance, but who Jake and Hawkins know as the man behind the September Attacks. Only they know his secret. And only they can stop him from committing another heinous act.
Episodes
Clips from the pilot episode became free to watch on
Yahoo! TV
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
several weeks before the episode actually aired on television. CBS is still showing most, but not all, of the ''Jericho'' episodes on their
Innertube
CBS Innertube was a broadband video channel launched by CBS in May 2006. The channel offered original web-only shows, as well as rebroadcasts of CBS's regular shows. The service was only available in the United States. It was rebranded as CBS.com ...
website as of January 2009, although they cannot be accessed from outside the U.S. CBS repeated the first three episodes on the Saturday nights following their original airings, as did Australia's Network Ten. All episodes from seasons 1 and 2 can be seen on Netflix.
Each episode's opening title sequence is accompanied by an audio message in
Morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
. The messages vary from generic references to cryptic clues, and are always related to the current episode in some way. The messages were broadcast at 15
words per minute
Words per minute, commonly abbreviated wpm (sometimes uppercased WPM), is a measure of words processed in a minute, often used as a measurement of the speed of typing, reading or Morse code sending and receiving.
Alphanumeric entry
Since words ...
at a
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
of 1000 Hz. In addition to these messages, there is Morse code over the DVD menus. These messages say "Jericho Fans Made TV History." (Season 1) and "Thank You Fans For Making TV History" (Season 2). Also, in the
second episode
"Second Episode" is the second episode of the HBO television series ''The New Pope''. The episode was directed by series creator Paolo Sorrentino and was written by Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contrarello, and Stefano Bises.
The episode takes place ...
, Robert Hawkins received several additional Morse code messages through a
ham radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
that he was fixing.
Reception
Ratings
Critical reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, Season 1 has an approval rating of 58% based on reviews from 27 critics. The website's critical consensus states: "''Jericho'' squanders the limitless potential of its apocalyptic premise by relying on tired tropes instead of forging a new path forward, leaving humanity with a retread rather than a reboot." Season 2 has an approval rating of 60% based on reviews from 10 critics. The website's critical consensus states: "''Jericho'' improves in a redemptive second season that better explores the premise of humanity starting over, but the series still suffers from a thin approach to weighty material and conspiratorial plotting that strains credulity." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, Season 1 has a score of 48 out of 100 while Season 2 holds a score of 72 out of 100.
Home video
CBS DVD
CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is a home entertainment company owned by Paramoun ...
&
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
have released both seasons on DVD in Regions 1, 2 & 4.
On June 5, 2018, CBS re-released the complete series set on DVD in Region 1.
Web-based tie-ins
An online companion to ''Jericho'' is called '' Beyond Jericho''. The television program gave the web address for the online companion. ''Beyond Jericho'' was to feature the "other survivors" of the nuclear attacks. According to Barbee, the story was intended to be unique to the site, but as the season of ''Jericho'' progressed, the online story would dovetail into the episodes themselves. However, the site and "webisode" are now unavailable, having been removed from the CBS website before the second episode of the TV show was broadcast.
CBS since decided to scrap the current webisode storyline, and instead released a new series of "prequel" webisodes named ''Countdown'' that take place before the first explosion. Each of these new webisodes appeared concurrently with the broadcast of new episodes during season 1, and showed Robert Hawkins gathering information before the attack.
''Beyond Jericho''
The first installment of ''Beyond Jericho'' began with an unknown man calling someone on a cell phone, requesting a ransom of $1.2 million for a woman he kidnapped. He then disappears underground through a metal trap door. While climbing down, he hears and feels a bang, but thinks nothing of it. After conversing with an associate about their next plans, he picks the woman up and climbs back up to the roof. When he opens the door, it's surrounded by rubble. The entire city around them has been destroyed. Shortly after, rubble falls through the trap door. With the cell phone (apparently actually the victim's cell phone) dead, and assuming that the man's associate is dead as well in the collapse, they start to climb through the rubble to find out what happened. Nearby, a hand with a surgical glove on emerges from the rubble, as the vignette ends.
''Countdown''
Starting on October 26, ''Beyond Jericho'' was replaced by ''Countdown'', which documents Robert Hawkins' efforts to learn as much as possible about the effects of nuclear bombs before he moved to Jericho. The webisodes do not feature any of the regular characters, and consist primarily of Hawkins, draped in shadows, watching mini-
documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
.
The mini-documentaries feature expert interviews about the effects of a nuclear attack. They are only minimally connected to each episode's plot. For instance, CBS' 8-episode plot summary reads: "A shadowy military unit bursts into the chamber Hawkins has just vacated. On his computer, they find a video." The video was a short documentary about FEMA's response to
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
and their use of
paramilitaries
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
. The "shadowy military unit" then patiently waits until the documentary ends to resume its search for Hawkins.
''Countdowns sponsor,
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
, is heavily promoted in the series using
product placement
Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...
. Nearly all dialog takes place as
SMS
Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
messages on an AT&T cellular phone, and a full-screen AT&T logo appears in every episode when Hawkins views the expert interviews. This web-based programming is not accessible from outside of the United States.
''JenningsandRall.com''
Created for the Tom Tooman game, JenningsandRall.com is the purported website of Jennings & Rall, the corporate giant which plays an increasingly prominent role in the second season of the series. The site contains a wealth of information about the company's post-holocaust global operations, with significant hints regarding events in the show.
On November 1, 2008, the domain name jenningsandrall.com expired.
''Tom Tooman''
''Tom Tooman'' is an
alternate reality game
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions.
The form is defined by inten ...
that CBS ran in conjunction with ''Jericho'', beginning in August 2007. The game began with a cryptic letter posted on a website, supposedly from a Tom Tooman of
Lame Deer, Montana
Lame Deer (Meaveʼhoʼeno in Cheyenne) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The community is named after Miniconjou Lakota chief Lame Deer, who was killed by the U.S. Army in 1877 under a flag of truce sout ...
. This letter was accompanied by a series of
bar codes
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly refe ...
, some with decimal numbers and others with Mayan numbers. These numbers were used to create an
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
for a second website. More clues were released, as well as a
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
on the CBS website connecting the game with ''Jericho''. The game abruptly ended when the series was cancelled, with no closure offered. A synopsis of the game and the puzzles appear at TomTooman.com.
Continuity of Operations Plan Continuity of Operations (COOP) is a United States federal government initiative, required by U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 40 (PPD-40), to ensure that agencies are able to continue performance of essential functions under a broad range of circ ...
– the
Continuity of Government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.
COG was developed by the British government bef ...
plan for the
U.S. government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
*
List of nuclear holocaust fiction
This list of nuclear holocaust fiction lists the many works of speculative fiction that attempt to describe a world during or after a massive nuclear war, nuclear holocaust, or crash of civilization due to a nuclear electromagnetic pulse.
Films
...
* ''
Nuclear War Survival Skills
''Nuclear War Survival Skills'' or NWSS, by Cresson Kearny, is a civil defense manual. It contains information gleaned from research performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the Cold War, as well as from Kearny's extensive jungle livin ...
'' – the official nuclear
Civil Defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
manual from
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
*
Nuclear weapons in popular culture
Since their public debut in August 1945, nuclear weapons and their potential effects have been a recurring motif in popular culture, to the extent that the decades of the Cold War are often referred to as the "atomic age".
Images of nuclear we ...
*
Survivalism
Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, as well as other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, civil disor ...