While you anxiously await the return of the video game-based seriesFallout, TV fanatics can get their post-apocalyptic America fix with a lesser-known two-season drama that certainly deserves another shot. Back in 2006, CBS aired a mysterious series simply titledJericho, and though a name like that no doubt suggests biblical connotations, the story went in quite a different direction. With a stellar cast that includedSkeet UlrichandLennie James, this is a network TV drama worth giving a second chance, especially if it’s been a few years. Seriously,Jerichowas a show long ahead of its time, one that should have gone on for several more years if the network had known what was good for them.
‘Jericho’ Was a Post-Apocalyptic Tale That Pulled From Real-Life American Tragedies
The aptly-namedJerichofollowed the small-town residents of Jericho, Kansas,following a nuclear attackthat hit 23 major cities across the United States. Perhaps unsurprisingly,it isn’t long before the walls of society begin to collapse and Jericho threatens to live up to its name. Chaos follows, but the folks of this small Kansas town — which isn’t far from one of the annihilated cities, Denver, Colorado — band together to survive this terrifying new reality as they deal with everything from food shortages and power outages to escaped convicts and armed militias. The choice is simple: the citizens of Jericho must either work together and trust each other, or become a cautionary tale to the rest of the world. For a show about post-apocalyptic middle America, the relevance ofJerichoremains.
Airing on July 08, 2025,Jerichowas heavily inspired by recent American catastrophes while simultaneously playing with themes of Cold War paranoia and the innocence and beauty of small-town Americana. At a 2007 Paley Fest gathering reported on byIGN, producerJonathan E. Steinberg(who co-created the series alongsideJosh SchaerandStephen Chbosky)cited 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina as being particular influences during the show’s development. According to Steinberg, 9/11 revealed the “best” people had to offer, while Katrina highlighted the “worst;” each catastrophe offered a grounded basis on which to explore the resulting human tragedies and triumphs. It was from that vantage point that the creators and producers crafted the series into a killer 29 episodes of television that still holds up considerably well.
Armed with a vast collection of characters,Jerichothrives because it never lets its overall mythology muddy the deeply human dramas at play. Rather than collecting a host of stock characters to fill the world, Jericho, Kansas, comes across as a truly lived-in place, one where each character offers something important to the survival of the town. While Skeet Ulrich’s Jake Green and Lennie James' Robert Hawkins are perhaps the most obvious as protagonists, the show takes time to detail other characters as well, from political rivals to struggling farmers. Whilethe rural purge of the 1970smade it increasingly less common for television dramas to be set in these types of Midwestern communities,Jerichoworked against the grain to tell a tale that would appeal to all demographics.
Skeet Ulrich and Lennie James Made ‘Jericho’ Must-Watch Television
There are many reasons thatJerichoshines as a beloved product of its time. The show’s balance between standalone episodes with distinct survival plots and multi-episode arcs was masterful, and a credit to the talented group of writers who came up witheach exciting post-apocalyptic hour. Additionally, the early 2000s soundtrack is full of Midwestern nostalgia, paired with visuals that evoke warm feelings of the American heartland. But likely the biggest reason thatJerichowas such an engaging series was due to its two dynamic leads, who made the show a must-watch during its brief tenure on CBS.
Though he may be best known for his work in theScreamfranchise or his time onRiverdale, Skeet Ulrich’s Jake Green is easily one of the most easy-to-root-for protagonists of early 2000s television. A prodigal son with a mysterious past,Jake providentially returns to Jericho the day the bombs fall, and without him the town would have quickly fallen apart. Though we know that Jake was a wild child in his youth, he returns a new man, seeking to atone for his actions overseas while working for mysterious government contractors. He’s done things that he wishes he could forget, yet, it’s those very skills that come most in handy when protecting Jericho against each new threat, both foreign and domestic. Ulrich is a strong leading man with an understated charisma that works perfectly in a show where each character runs solely on fumes.
Likewise, long before he would migrate to thebiggest post-apocalyptic franchise on television,The Walking Dead,Lennie James first made a name for himself on American television as Robert Hawkins. A former covert operative who knows more about the attacks than he’s telling,Hawkins is perhaps the show’s most fascinating character. Everything he does is for the sake of his family, yet he continues to push them away as he wrestles with his sworn duty to protect the American people, including from their own government. Posing as a cop from St. Louis, Hawkins wears more masks than those around him are comfortable with, but his intelligence and superior instincts prove paramount time and again. Interestingly,Hawkins wasn’t a major player at the beginning, but as the show progressed, he grew into his place as the show’s second leading man.
Fans Saved ‘Jericho’ For A Time, but The Series Didn’t Continue For Long
Behind the scenes,Jerichosparked a rapid and intense fanbase. The premise itself attracted a strong audience, despite the fact that critics weren’t terribly impressed at first. But although the potent mixture of characters and plot kept folks engaged throughout the first season, the show’s ratings declined over the course of the 2006-2007 television season. Not unlikewhat happened to ABC’sInvasionthe year prior, CBS canceled the show on a cliffhanger, a decision that sparked an incredibly vocal protest from viewers. In response toJericho’s cancellation, theWashington Postreported thatfans sent in 20 tons of peanuts to the network by mail as a direct reference to the historical Battle of the Bulge, which was referenced in the Season 1 finale, “Why We Fight.“By some miracle, this response prompted the network to change its mind, andJerichowas renewed for a shortened second season.
While the hope was thatJerichowould continue beyond the seven additional episodes of Season 2 (which critics reviewed far more favorably), the show shot two endings to the impromptu series finale, “Patriots and Tyrants,“to give the audience more closure. Unfortunately,this was the last time we ever sawJerichoon television. “We had a big fan base,” Skeet Ulrich toldA.V. Clubwhen reflecting on the series' short return to CBS. “But they didn’t do the marketing to let people know when it came back, and then when the numbers dropped, they blamed us.” Though fans couldn’t get the show renewed for a third season, there were talks of a feature film continuation for a whilebefore Netflix got interested in picking it back up. But talk was all that ever came of it.
Eventually,Jerichodid continue, though not in the medium that most were hoping for.Jerichoreturned as a limited comic book series published by IDW. Season 3, subtitled “Civil War,” followed the events of the Season 2 finale as Jake and Hawkins get in the middle of the Second American Civil War. Penned by series producerDan Shotzand writerRobert Levine, the Season 3 comic ran for six issues between November 2009 and June 2011. A few years later, IDW returned toJerichowith a Season 4 limited series that ran for five issues. While rumors of a Season 5 comic book float around from time to time, it’s safe to say that after a decade,Jerichomay be finished. Still, the original two-season series can be found these days on streaming, and speaking from personal experience, it holds up just as well now as ever.
Jerichois available for streaming on Paramount+.
