'Jericho': Its renewal is official

The fictional town of “Jericho” survived a nearby nuclear blast, and now the CBS drama, canceled just last month, will live to see another day.

After much fanfare—intense viewer support that came in the form of letters, petitions and lots of nuts delivered to CBS headquarters, network executives have re-grouped and decided to give the Skeet Ulrich-led drama a second chance.

On Wednesday, CBS President of Entertainment Nina Tassler ordered seven episodes of the series to air sometime in mid-season, crediting the fervent cancellation protest as “creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone.”

Resurrection: The fans save 'Jericho'

Sometimes going a little nutty is a good thing.

For weeks, "Jericho" junkies have been firing e-mails (effectively shutting down InBoxes at CBS and this newspaper), signing petitions and sending bags of nuts to CBS headquarters in protest.

The assault seems to have worked, "Jericho" creator and executive producer Carol Barbee said Tuesday. CBS executives are in discussions with the show's producers and actors to resuscitate the show  -- killed just last month -- for an eight-episode run in mid-season.

"The idea would not be to bring it for eight and out, but to bring it back for eight with the hope that it would keep going," Barbee said. "They're making deals with the actors and there's other logistical stuff to work out too. 'Swingtown' [a new drama] was supposed to take over the same stages so it's a lot about the logistics of how to work out a schedule that works for all of us."