Okay, it’s a week ’til the second season of “Jericho” premieres. Time to really start getting excited…
As regular readers of Premium Hollywood know, we’ve been fans of “Jericho” from the get-go. Yes, we laid it on the line and acknowledged when we didn’t love everything we were seeing – both myself and John Paulsen went so far as to channel our inner Stephen Colbert, each of us putting the show on notice at one point or another – but when the series came back from its network-imposed midseason hiatus, it came back with all thrusters firing. Naturally, CBS then proceeded to cancel the series….and, just as naturally, the show’s fans rebelled. Defying the law of averages, the fans won: CBS reversed its decision and renewed “Jericho” for a second season. Yes, it’s shorter this time around, earning only a seven-episode shot at Round 2, but based on what I’ve seen, the crunch has worked in the show’s favor.
I was fortunate enough to get the show’s executive producer, Carol Barbee, on the phone for a few minutes, and she offered up quite a lot of scoop about the upcoming season…and although I did make sure to follow CBS’s requests to keep mum about certain specifics within the episodes, you should be forewarned that there are still plenty of small spoilers sprinkled throughout. (Also, I promise that there’s less of me talking as the conversation progresses; she just asked my opinion, so I felt obliged to give it!)
Bullz-Eye: Hey, Carol, how are you?
Carol Barbee: I’m good! How are you?
BE: Battling a cold, but hanging on. It’s a pleasure to speak with you; I think we spoke for about five seconds during the TCA Press Tour.
CB: Yeah, that sounds about right. (Laughs)
BE: Well, CBS has sent me six of the seven episodes in Season 2 of “Jericho,” and from what I’ve seen, my first reaction is that, for as much as I already loved the way the show had taken such a significant upswing at the end of Season 1, it looks like you even managed to fix the few problems I still had with it!
CB: Oh, wow, I’m so glad to hear that!
BE: I have to be honest that circumstances have kept me from putting in the second disc, with episodes 4 – 6, but…
CB: (In a hushed voice) Oh…!
BE: …but now that I’ve finished the first three episodes, I’m chomping at the bit to watch them!
CB: Well, at some point, I want to hear the problems that you think we fixed, because that’s really good to hear.
BE: Okay, well, granted, a lot of those problems were well on their way to being fixed as the second half of the first season found the show evolving. Like, I know there was a whole lot of talk about how the show would be partly like “Little House on the Prairie,” and it had definitely begun departing from that. Which was good, because, y’know, with a premise involving nuclear bombs going off in the United States, it just seemed like it should’ve been a darker show.
CB: Yes, thank you!
BE: And I’m sure that, with its new 10 PM timeslot, that’s going to help with that.
CB: Yeah, I think so, too.
BE: Did you ask for the later timeslot for that reason, or was that something the network just gave to you?
CB: It was luck of the draw. I mean, honestly, it depended on what their new shows did, so we could’ve been on Sundays at 8 PM or Tuesdays at 10 PM or Fridays at 9 PM. So we were prepared for anything. But we’re thrilled to be a 10 o’clock show. I think we are a darker show, and I think that’s the right place for us.
BE: I know that Season 2 was originally going to take place in Jericho, Cheyenne, and New York, but how did the direction of the season change when you got a smaller episode order than you’d anticipated?
CB: Well, the story we had pitched to them for Season 2 was a much broader, epic story. We wanted to show what was going on beyond them, in the rest of the country, and so it was going to be a story in Cheyenne, a story in Jericho, and then a story in New York City, and at some point the stories were going to dovetail. But when we got the order with less time, less money, less cast, less writers, less everything… (Laughs) …we took just the Jericho story, which ended by dovetailing with the Cheyenne story, then took 21 episodes worth of story and put it into seven. So that’s how we did it. These seven, I think you’ll see when you see the rest of them, there’s no time and no need to tread water. Something huge happens in every episode, and episode seven…honestly, it’s amazing.
BE: I’m very psyched to see it. That’s the one episode they didn’t provide us, so I guess I’ll just have to watch it with everyone else.
CB: (Laughs) Yeah, they had to hold something back!
BE: The cliffhanger ending from last season is wrapped up in short order, then you do a time-jump and move ahead several weeks. Was it always your plan to do it that way, to avoid dwelling on the past and just move on?
CB: Well, we really felt that we owed it to the fans what happened at the end of the season, because we left them on the verge of war, with a tank trying to stop a train and the Cheyenne government coming to hunt Hawkins. So we thought, “Okay, we’ve really got to pay this off.” And that’s what we did in the teaser. But in Act One, the story of Season Two walks in the door with Esai Morales, so a new audience can jump on board and know where they are by following along with him.
BE: I kind of indicated that the “Little House” comparisons are nowhere to be seen now, but, if anything, there’s actually a level of tension at various points in the first few episodes that finds the show in a “24”-like groove.
CB: Oh, yeah. I think that was always…that was the heartbeat of the show underneath all of the character stuff that we were attempting and that CBS thought they wanted in the beginning. But I think the show finally found itself. That was always there, and it’s now the spine of the show. We decided for Season 2, even before we were canceled and brought back, that it was going to be much more focused on a huge A-story. And there would be other stories that feed into it, but like “24,” we wanted to make it much more A-story driven.
BE: To go along with that, the characters are more streamlined. It’s not so much that you really separated the wheat from the chaff, but the people that we don’t see in the first few episodes aren’t really missed because there’s so much going on with those who we do see.
CB: Thank you! Thanks, I really appreciate that.
BE: You mentioned Esai Morales, who joins the cast as Major Beck, the military representative stationed in Jericho to help them with their rebuilding. I really didn’t know him before this, but he holds his own. He’s very much a can’t-take-your-eyes-off-him presence.
CB: Good! I’m so glad you think so. I think so, too. We were saying that there was a vacuum of awesomeness… (Laughs) …when we lost Gerald McRaney, and we needed someone, so we were so happy when Esai joined the cast. He’s in all the episodes, and I think he’s amazing. I love watching that character.
BE: We see the organization Jennings & Rall play somewhat of a FEMA-like role in the process of helping Jericho get back on its feet.
CB: They do, but they also play sort of a Haliburton-type role as we go along, so stay tuned!
BE: I don’t know how much of your hand you want to play, but, uh, are there any other organizations from Season 1 that might be reappearing in Season 2?
CB: Oh, yeah. Ravenwood will definitely make a big showing; they’re a big part of what’s going on this year.
BE: April Parker’s being utilized much better this season, now that Robert and Darcy have reached a place in their relationship where they can actually be honest with each other.
CB: Yes, we adore her! She’s such a great actress, and she’s one of the characters with whom we really did some retooling and thought, “We have to find a way to make her an integral part of the story and not just an appendage.” So we got…their personal story has come to a place where they’re good together, they’re happy together, and she becomes one of his partners, so to speak.
BE: Now, did I miss it at the end of Season 1, or are their kids living elsewhere?
CB: The kids are there. They’re…you don’t see them that much. Again, when there’s action going on, the kids aren’t necessarily going to be involved. But you’ll see them. They’re there, and depending on where Hawkins is, since he has to go into hiding sometimes, they stay with Jimmy’s family.
BE: I was just wondering, because we see a lot of Robert and Darcy, but I’m three episodes in, and their kids haven’t even been mentioned yet. Just wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed something.
CB: No, no, they’re still in town. You’ll see them again.
BE: In Season 1, I didn’t feel that the relationship between Stanley and Mimi always rang true, that it felt more schmaltzy than not. (Writer’s note: if you kept up with my blog last season, then you know I’m seriously downplaying my feelings on the matter.) But I was pleasantly surprised to find that…well, I don’t know if the actors have found their chemistry or if it’s the new direction of the scripts, but I really enjoyed their scenes in these new episodes.
CB: Good! I think that one of the things we realized this year, when we wanted to make this a strong A-story-driven season, was that we couldn’t tell a lot of the personal stories, so we had to tell the ones…or even just the one…that we felt really fed into the A-story organically. And I think the one with Stanley and Mimi does. They are a huge part of this arc, but I think it’s in a way that no-one is going to expect. Their relationship does not go the way that you think it’s going to go, and I think that they feed seamlessly into the A-story, so you don’t feel like you’re stopping to have the big emotional moment. It’s actually part of the A-story.
BE: Even in some of the big moments during the first few episodes, such as their engagement (which was revealed way back in July), the way it’s done feels real and not just that it’s shoehorning something into the story. And, for that matter, the relationship with them and Bonnie is stronger as well, since we’re finally given some of the back story about how Stanley came to be Bonnie’s guardian.
CB: Yeah! I love that stuff between Stanley and Bonnie.
BE: You guys also already let it leak that we’d be seeing Heather again, and, obviously, we don’t have wait long for that to happen.
CB: (Cheerily) No! You see her right away! Yeah, and again, I hope you feel…and I hope the fans feel…that that was worthwhile. Because what we really felt in the first of last season was that we had not set up that character in a way that gave her a lot of legs in the show. She didn’t really have a purpose in the main A-story, and what we wanted to do was send that character away, make her go through some really bad things, bring her back, and play to the strengths of the actress, because Sprague Grayden is a great actress. She’s got a depth to her that we weren’t using. We were just using sweet little tomboy Heather. And she’s still sweet little tomboy Heather. But she’s been through some things, and she comes back on a mission, and I think she’s much more integral to the series. It’s a really good story for her, and she’s really part of the action.
BE: Dale pops up again after a couple of episodes, just as dark and brooding as when we last left him…
CB: (Laughs) He is!
BE: But, again, he comes across a bit differently as well. He’s grown up, and he also seems more compelling this go-round.
CB: Good! He’s a good actor, that kid.
BE: Is his girlfriend, Skylar, coming back?
CB: Yes. Everybody is back that you saw last year. Everybody is back except Gerald McRaney…and we tried to get McRaney, but he was doing a play in New York, and he literally had one day off, and it would’ve meant flying him out and flying him right back. And it just couldn’t happen. But everyone else comes back.
BE: I was particularly glad to see Dr. Duwalia come back.
CB: Yay! Kenchy! (Writer’s note: That’s not a pet name for actor Aasif Mandvi, who plays the role, but, rather, the first name of the good doctor.)
BE: He didn’t get that much play in Season 1 – what, maybe 3 or 4 episodes? – but I always liked the character whenever he turned up.
CB: Yeah, and he’s also a great actor.
BE: He is. Just as Daniel Benzali is a great and ominous villain for the series.
CB: Yes!
BE: Now, we’ve reached a point where I have to follow CBS’s directives and not reveal one of the key developments within these episodes…and, yet, I still want to ask you a little about it. So… (Laughs) …please be very aware of my phrasing and how careful I’m being.
CB: Okay!
BE: Here goes. (Clears throat) A very recognizable citizen of Jericho is not going to make it out of the season alive. How did discussions about the character’s death come about, and will fans walk away without feeling gypped?
CB: Ooooooo! That’s very good! Now let me see if *I* can say something without saying something! Um…we needed our town to turn against, to resist, and to become a revolution against this new government, and we thought, “Something really bad has to happen to spur these people into that kind of action.” And a lot of bad things have already happened in Jericho, so we needed the worst thing to happen, and the worst thing we could think of to happen was…that. We needed something that would really go to the heart of this town and make them fight against these overwhelming odds, and that’s what we did.
BE: Okay, and time for another judgment call: do you want to discuss the visit of a prominent government official to Jericho?
CB: I…yeah, I think we can.
BE: Did you ever maybe feel like it would be bringing things too coincidentally close to home to have a whistle-stop tour bringing this person to a town as small as Jericho?
CB: We definitely had to justify that, and I think we did. And I think it definitely brings the big picture to our little town. I love that episode. George Newbern is great in the role; he’s very John Edwards-y.
BE: Not that the writer’s strike is in any way a good thing, but are hoping that it at least pays off for “Jericho” by way of a nation starved for new episodes of scripted shows?
CB: Um…yes. (Laughs) Definitely. I think the silver lining about the writer’s strike – other than the fact that we’re going to get a better contract out of it – is that we’re one of the only shows that have new content. We have seven episodes. It’s like a miniseries. It’s like a movie. It’s seven weeks in a row; it’s a full story. We arc’ed this out; it’s a seven-episode arc, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and I think we’re very lucky that way. When they first ordered seven episodes, of course, we wanted more. But, now, I realize that if they had ordered even one more, we would have a finale sitting in an editing bay, lying in pieces, not being able to be finished. So we’re very lucky that we had seven and we were done. There were a few things left to be completed, but for the most part, it was all done. So we’re lucky. I hope we benefit from that.
BE: Are you keeping your fingers crossed that this’ll result in a Season 3, or is that just too much to hope for at this point?
CB: It’s not at all too much to hope for. Are you kidding me? We came back from the dead! Anything’s possible! (Laughs) I fully expect us to get a Season 3; I really do. I think that we have a core group of rabid fans that any network would be thrilled to have, and we also have a huge presence on the internet, which is, of course, what this strike is about. It’s all about how everybody’s trying to use the internet to build fan bases…and we’re already there! And I also think that new audiences are coming on every day because they’re saying, “Wait a minute, people went crazy over this show and saved it, and it’s never happened before, so maybe I should check it out.” So, yeah, I have great hopes that we’ll get a Season 3.
BE: Well, as I said, even from just the three episodes that I’ve seen thus far, it’s really just BAM! BAM! BAM! I mean, seriously, it’s everything that I loved about the last several episodes of the first season, except that we’re getting it right off the bat this time.
CB: Yay! Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that.
BE: Was there a certain point during Season 1 where you started to realize what was working best and what wasn’t? Was it based on what you were hearing from the fans, or was it something you discovered yourselves?
CB: You know what? It was a little of both, to tell you the truth. I keep saying this to people, but I think the first six episodes of any show should probably just go into a vault and never be seen again. Because it’s so much about…you have a great idea, maybe even a great pilot, but then it’s about navigating the waters of television, and that has to do with 25 executives with ideas about what the show should be, with 25 people on your side of the fence with ideas about what the show should be. And there comes a point, if you’re lucky, as we were, where the head of the network looks at you and asks, “What’s the show you want to make? What show do you think this should be?” And we got to say what it was, and we got to pursue that. And I think that’s what happened from, say, Episode 15 onward last season. We hit our stride, and I think the show really knows what it is now.
BE: And, lastly, do you have anything that you’d like to say to the “Jericho” fans who read our site? Because I’ve blogged every episode since the beginning, so we’ve definitely got some regular visitors.
CB: Well, I will say that coming back the way we did, being razed from the dead the way we were, was because of them. So we came back, and this season…we were fueled in a way that I’ve never been fueled before while doing a season of television. We came back not for the ratings, although we need and want good ratings, and not in search of a Season 3, although we want to get Season 3…and we will! But we came back to say “thank you” and to pay off the fans who saved us, who brought us back. And we were so filled with such…it was so excited to be there doing a show that you knew so many people cared about. And there was also this feeling where it was, like, “What are they going to do, cancel us? We’ve already been canceled! Let’s just do the show we want to do!” And it was a really fun seven episodes to shoot, and I really believe we said “thank you” to the fans. And I hope they feel that way, too.
