Jericho is an American post-apocalyptic action drama 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. It was produced by CBS Paramount Network Television and Junction Entertainment, with executive producers Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Chbosky, and Carol Barbee. It was shown in more than 30 countries.

Jericho ran from September 20, 2006, to March 25, 2008, on CBS. 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 reported that The CW 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 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 town, in the aftermath of a nuclear attack on twenty-three American cities in the contiguous United States. The series begins with the sighting of a mushroom cloud of unknown origin over Denver, Colorado. Initially, it is assumed to be an accident, until a teenager reveals a recording of a phone call from his mother in Atlanta, Georgia, which is cut off by the sound of an explosion – demonstrating that the Denver disaster was not isolated, and thus unlikely to be accidental.

Problems are compounded by loss of power and modern communications, effectively isolating Jericho. Later, power is restored to Jericho by what is alluded to the efforts of the U.S. government but an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from an unknown source disables all electronics. ICBM's are also seen being launched into the sky.

While the first few episodes center on restoring life, following the attacks, about halfway through the season some citizens of Jericho 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 begin to sour as New Bern puts the blame on Jericho for its problems and the New Bern sheriff eventually declares war, leading to the season's climax.

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 the story is Jake Green, the 32-year-old son of Mayor Johnston Green. Jake had fled the town of Jericho five years earlier, after 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, intended for the attack, but how he obtained it and his allegiance remain unclear.

Johnston' mayoral opponent, Gray Anderson, encounters a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) camp outside of Topeka, where he learns that the attack on New York City was foiled by alert New York City Police who arrested the bombers before they could detonate the 20-kiloton nuclear bomb in the back of a van. Anderson also reports that Washington, D.C. has been bombed. On the way back from the FEMA camp, Anderson's car is stolen by looters and he is forced to walk home to Jericho. Anderson also discovered that Lawrence, Kansas, was targeted, and that the governor is missing. Robert Hawkins receives a Morse code message on a ham radio stating that Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Diego and several more cities (not shown) have been destroyed. A black box flight data recorder that Jake recovers from a crashed airliner indicates that air traffic control is non-existent, a mushroom cloud was seen rising into the atmosphere and that flashes had also been seen towards Texas.

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 his past.

In the first season finale, armed residents of New Bern attack Jericho with crude mortars 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 fatally 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, except the independent Republic of Texas, 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 normality 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 outpost 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. The ASA accuses North Korea and Iran of being behind the attacks, and subsequently bombed the two countries (the source of the missiles seen in Season 1). Known only to Hawkins and a select few, the September attacks were not a foreign 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, who distributed stolen Soviet nukes to various domestic terrorist groups. Their exact motives are left unclear. Hawkins, who was previously a CIA agent, had infiltrated the terrorists before the attacks and managed to recover the bomb meant for Columbus, Ohio. He 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. Welcomed as saviors, the government's military and mercenary agents transform life in Jericho into a repressive police state, led by a private security contracting firm, Ravenwood, owned by Jennings & Rall (J&R), 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. The brother of Bonnie kills the contractor responsible for her murder, which prompts Beck to declare Jake and his men terrorists. 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 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 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. He is also contacted by John Smith, a former J&R whistleblower who reveals that he was the one who masterminded the attacks. He explains that he committed them to eliminate J&R's influence on the US government, though the plan has backfired, as J&R now effectively controls the ASA as a puppet state. Smith announces that he intends to use the bomb to destroy Cheyenne and J&R. Knowing that this would only embolden the ASA, Hawkins makes contact with Jake and the two travel to Cheyenne. Once there, Jake and Hawkins retake the bomb from J&R contractors (one of whom is revealed to be Smith, who escapes). 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 the struggle for power between the Eastern United States, which is led by the legitimate surviving United States government, now governed from Columbus, and the Allied States (separated by the UN monitored Mississippi River). The Texan ambassador in Cheyenne shelters Jake and Hawkins at his embassy, as Texas hasn't decided which government to back yet.

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 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 F-16 fighters suddenly appear and shoot down the ASA planes. Jake and Hawkins make it to Texas with the bomb, which Texan authorities prepare to examine for its origins. One of Hawkins allies tells Jake that once the tests are completed, Texas will side with the Columbus government against the ASA. As Jake and Hawkins are taken away in an ambulance, Hawkins ominously intones that a second American Civil War 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.

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