[Televisionary]

Perhaps fan campaigns to save doomed series do really work after all. CBS is said to be in talks to resurrect cancelled drama Jericho , which it axed at the end of the post-apocalyptic drama's sole season last month, thanks to the efforts of some devoted viewers. The Hollywood Reporter indicates that CBS is considering bringing back the slaughtered series for a seven-episode midseason run. One hurdle, however: getting Jericho 's cast, including star Skeet Ulrich, to sign up for a second tour of duty. The network does have all of the actors under option (most nets typically retain options on their series' actors through July), however those deals would have to be changed due to the truncated Season Two structure. Bottom line: Jericho fans, don't expect all of your favorite characters to return next year, should CBS be able to reach a deal with sister studio CBS Paramount. UPDATE: CBS has confirmed that they have in fact ordered those seven additional episodes of Jeric

Looking at this year's slate of ordered series, there are definitely a few trends that emerge, like an emphasis on dramedies ( Dirty Sexy Money , Big Shots , Reaper ) or a pre-occupation with just what the geek half of the beauty and the geek paradigm gets up to (shown in no less than The Big Bang Theory , Chuck , Aliens in America , The IT Crowd ). But one of the strangest trends has got to be next season's series creators' absolute obsession with the name Chuck, which pops up in no less than three fall series, including Chuck (duh), Pushing Daisies , and Gossip Girl . So, how to keep each of these Chucks straight? Below is a handy guide to doing just that. Name: Chuck ( Chuck ) Actor: Zachary Levi Occupation: Nerd Herd/Buy More employee; living intelligence database; Zork memoralist Likes: Video games, hot blondes, hiding in his bedroom with best friend Morgan. Dislikes: Being forced to talk to women about things other than his college girlfriend; shifty and aggressive

I'll admit that while I watch Hell's Kitchen , I'm always slightly baffled by the fact that the culinary competition series, which launched last night on FOX, rewards its participants with their very own restaurant (or at least running the kitchen in someone else's restaurant) when the series essentially tests them each week by... forcing them to work on the line? It's particularly jarring given that Bravo's own Top Chef , which is going into its third season as well, launches next week. Though it lacks the explosive personality of Gordon Ramsay, Top Chef seems more inclined to cast people with, you know, actual talent. Here on Hell's Kitchen , the producers seem much more inclined to cast "personalities" rather than competitive chefs. How else to explain the dog's dinner that the aspiring HK winners presented to Ramsay in the guise of their "signature dishes" or the fact that more than half of them seem incapable of cooking an egg

It's always interesting, post-Upfronts, when pilots thought to be dead actually do get a shot at life. After all, CW did recently order 13 episodes of comedy Eight Days a Week , starring Christina Milian, Mario Lopez, and Anna Chlumsky (yes, of My Girl , and Liz Lemler/ 30 Rock fame) for midseason, despite garnering nary a mention at its upfront presentation. So what happens to those pilots that didn't quite get a shot at network glory (or swift cancellation)? Sometimes these things just die away, to be reviewed later by television junkies with far too many pilot screeners on their hands. And sometimes they live on to see another day. The Hollywood Reporter has filed a report stating that two such high-profile pilot projects continue exist in a state of limbo. The US adaptation of BBC series The Thick of It , re-envisioned by Arrested Development 's Mitch Hurwitz was swiftly killed by ABC, which passed on putting the comedy on its fall schedule. However, the network vul

While I'll be reviewing the first four episodes of the series next week, those of you jonesing for a sneak peek of Showtime's haunting new series Meadowlands , starring David Morrissey ( State of Play , Blackpool ) as the pater familias of a family in the witness protection program, look no further. Showtime has offered you lucky, lucky readers an advance glimpse at the dark series' premiere episode, scheduled to launch in the US on June 17th. Simply log onto Showtime's super-duper top-secret Meadowlands preview site (well, for now, anyway) here and then enter the password "secret." Enjoy!

I'm not sure how American audiences will take to the new docu-comedy series Creature Comforts , which launches tonight on CBS. Based on an Academy Award-winning film by Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit , Creature Comforts is in fact a series of man-on-the-street interviews with members of the general populace. The audio tracks are then set to the humorous visual juxtaposition of claymation-based animals, ranging from dogs and cats to bees and giraffes. The UK version of the series aired on ITV and, as a huge Wallace & Gromit fan, I couldn't help but be enchanted with its home-spun wisdoms about the behaviors of (human) animals. Everyone has a place within Creature Comforts , from old married couples to slacker dudes to little children, and each gets their chance to stand on the (animated) soapbox, talking about topics ranging from relationships and sex, to doctors, lying, and vacations. The premiere episode alone features a virtual menagerie of no less than hors

Something tells me the crew of the Galactica will be getting to Earth a little sooner than expected. After will-they-or-won't-they rumors about the potential end of Battlestar Galactica swirled for months (Edward James Olmos says this season is the last; the show's producers deny it, etc.), Sci Fi has finally confirmed what most of us had already accepted as fact: the end of BSG is nigh. Series, which has always struggled in the ratings despite heaps of critical accolades (and a Peabody to boot!), will sign off after the current season, the show's fourth, comes to a close. "This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and, finally, an end," said BSG 's executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick in a prepared statement. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end, and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms." Season F