Who's the creative team behind Jeremiah?
I heard Joe Dante was involved with the show. What is his role?
Well, first of all, you have J. Michael Straczynski, the fan favorite responsible for the
Babylon 5 series, serving as executive producer and showrunner.
Then there is Sam Egan who is also executive producer and writing about half the episodes in
season one. Also on the team is Platinum Studios' Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, one of the minds
behind the development of Men In Black for the silver screen as well as Ervin
Rustemagic, who is responsible for the production of the original Hermann Huppen comic books.
We have heard some rumblings about Joe Dante's involvement and we will just let JMS answer this
one for us:
Joe Dante was involved with the early development of the project. Once I wrote the pilot,
he was on tap to direct, and his deal, based on his early involvement, called for certain fees
and titles. When it came time for the pilot, he was not available, but the deal remains the
same. He has not been involved in the show since then. I don't think anyone in the company has
even heard from him since. (Apr.23.2002)
New to season two is Grant Rosenberg (no relation to Scott M. Rosenberg), who has taken over
the day-to-day responsibilities on the set in order to free JMS' time to write most of the
episodes in season two. Word is that Grant might write one episode in season two. Also, Sam
Egan has moved on to other projects and will no longer be part of the team in season two.
Read more about some of these people on our Jeremiah Writers page.
Is Christopher Franke doing the music?
J. Michael Straczynski said it best:
No, Tim Truman is doing the music. It's just a different kind of show. You don't use the
same composer for everything you do.
He also has quite an impressive list of television shows that he has done the theme songs for
like Melrose Place, Charmed, and Providence. He also did some episode
music for Miami Vice too. Tim Truman has also Composed, Arranged and Produced for
artists like Peter Cetera (Chicago), Michael Jackson, and Donna Summer. For more information
about him, visit his web site at:
http://www.timtruman.com/
What can you tell me about the music in Jeremiah or the new theme song?
All the music in the series is composed by Tim
Truman. More information about him can be found on his web site at:
http://www.timtruman.com/
In season two, a new theme song was created to replace the season one haunting musical piece.
It now contains lyrics which were written and composed by
Tim Truman and performed by Paul Van of
Solarcade. This piece of music was first heard
during the closing credits of the season one pilot and it was re-arranged for the season two
theme song that is played during the opening credits of each episode.
If you want to listen to the music and read the lyrics, please visit our
Gallery where we keep the
season one and
season two clips and sound bytes.
When will Jeremiah air in my country?
Season one of Jeremiah will be shown on the Canada on two pay cable channels (The Movie
Network and Movie Central) in September 2002. Season two is scheduled to air on TMN in October
2003. For more more information, please visit our Canadian Episode
Schedule page.
Also, thanks to "Tom Hobbes" from B5TV.com for reporting the episode list for cable channel
"Cinefaz" which started in November 2002. For more information, please visit our
France Episode Schedule page.
Sky Network Television in New Zealand has also started airing Jeremiah's season one in
November 2002. There is no word when season two will air. For more information, please visit
our New Zealand Episode Schedule page.
There has been much rejoicing in the UK as Sky One has picked up season one of Jeremiah
at last in December 2002. There is no word when season two will air. For more information,
please visit our United Kingdom Episode Schedule page.
A fellow B5TV'er located in South Africa let us know that Jeremiah's season one has
aired March 2003. There is no word when season two will air. For more information, please
visit our South Africa Episode Schedule page.
Israel got the go ahead to show Jeremiah in April 2003. For more information, please
visit our Israel Episode Schedule page.
Now Germany has joined in and will be airing Jeremiah January 9, 2004. Visit our
German Episode Schedule page.
Are they repeating the show later in the week?
Repeats are airing on the two Showtime channels SHOWTIME TOO and SHOWTIME BEYOND. Also, if
you have SHOWTIME ON DEMAND available in your area you may want to check out their schedule
as they often add it to their lineup as well. However, please check your local listings for
more information as they may have different inforamtion than we can provide.
We asked a few questions via Showtime's Ask a Question form and this was the
response we got:
Jeremiah will not air more then once a week at this time.
Also, regarding why it is not being repeated and shown only on Showtime Beyond:
To create a service our subscribers will enjoy, our programming department acquires the
best movies, series and specials available and our scheduling department presents them at
various times on various channels.
It is not much of an answer but at least it is something. Now that we have posted contact
infomation for all the Showtime and MGM executives on our Jeremiah
Buzz Campaign, you can talk to someone in person and listen to what you have to say
seriously.
Can I see Jeremiah if I don't get Showtime?
If you live in America, Jeremiah is airing on Showtime - and Showtime only. So, unless
you have some well-connected friends, you'll have to wait until Jeremiah is syndicated
through MGM to see it.
When can we expect to see the show in syndication?
J. Michael Straczynski had this to say about it:
Yes, it will eventually be syndicated, but not for about 2 years. (Jul.20.2001)
So, look for it to be available sometime around 2004.
Apparently, Showtime has a multi-year exclusive to Jeremiah. Also, when it does make it
to syndication, expect to see an toned down and edited version.
An update to JMS' previous statement about when we can expect it to go into syndication:
The syndication aspect in the US won't happen for, I think, 3 more years, to give Showtime
the maximum window on it. (Nov.16.2002)
This puts syndication in about 2005/6 which is about the same time the Big Death is released
in Jeremiah's world. It also sounds like we might be getting a five year show? ;)
How long is this series going to be on the air?
Of course it depends on the success of the series and how well it is received. We know that 20
episodes have been commissioned for the first season and 15 episodes have been produced for
season two. If you read between the lines in the above answer, it looks like Showtime is
expecting a five-year run for this show.
This does not mean however that Jeremiah is guaranteed to be on the air for X number of years
since as JMS said:
Every series is season-by-season. (Jan.12.2003)
Finally, when JMS was questioned about how many seasons he has planned for Jeremiah's arc, he
responded "Five."
When will season two premiere?
The official word from
Showtime has been announced about Jeremiah getting renewed for a second season.
This is what JMS had to say about it recently:
Last I heard, year two is set to debut in the US around the first week of August. They
want to be able to debut their new series Dead Like Me in June/July or so, let that
get its sea-legs, then we come out in August. (Mar.28.2003)
However, if you head on over to Showtime's
site or message
boards, you will see this:
Season 2 of Jeremiah Premieres on Friday, October 10 at 10pm ET/PT.
Catch the Pilot Episode for Season 1 of Jeremiah on Friday, October 10th at 8:30pm ET/PT.
We heard JMS won't be involved with season three if there is one?
Indeed the news is sad but true. We have heard that there may be some contractual obligations
which will require him to return for the first few episodes of season three (if it gets
renewed) but here is what JMS said recently:
However, even though the article totally misstated the sentence so it didn't make any
sense, the last phrase is correct, in that I have zero desire to return to a third season of
Jeremiah. Showtime was great, no mistake, but MGM has overall been the most heinous, difficult
and intrusive studio I've ever worked for. I've worked for, and had great relations with,
Viacom, Universal, Warner Bros., and a bunch more. But I will never, ever, work for the
present administration at MGM. (Jul.24.2003)
Now that season one is in the can, when can we expect the series to be released on DVD?
There is nothing official yet but various industry news sites are reporting that a release of
the season one DVDs for Jeremiah are scheduled for January 20th, 2004. Visit these sites
for more information:
Comic Continuum
TV Shows on DVD
The
Futon Critic
We are pretty sure it will be released in January as Amazon is now taking pre-orders for the
season one boxed set. For more information, visit our Jeremiah Boxed
Set DVD page.
How is Jeremiah doing in the ratings?
From what we have heard, Jeremiah is doing very well and each time an episode airs, it
draws more viewers in. This is good news for making the show available on DVD and overseas --
not to mention a very good possibility of a third season as well!
From J. Michael Straczynski himself:
Both Showtime and MGM called to offer congratulations on our first ep. Stargate, airing a
brand new episode right before us, with an established audience, pulled a 2.9 and a 5 share,
excellent by pay cable standards.
Our first real ep out of the box *also* got a 2.9 and a 5 share, AND it also grew by quarter
hours, ending up at a 3.1 for the last quarter hour, indicating again that we hold viewers and
add as we go, a very good thing.
So everybody's happy. (Mar.19.2002)
Showtime is quite happy. We're generally out-pulling Stargate, which is an established show
with a reliable audience, and each episode we build our audience by quarter hours, meaning
people who stumble onto it stick around. (Apr.8.2002)
So, Jeremiah was inspired by a comic series?
It certainly was based on a comic series ... called Jeremiah. ;) It was written by Hermann
Huppen in 1979 and it was a huge hit in Europe. It hasn't been published in the states in
about 10 years and we don't believe it was successful or else you would still be able to find
it. The good news is that they are planning to re-publish the series stateside later this
year. This re-issue is now available and called "Gun in the Water" so check out our
Jeremiah Store for more inforamtion. You can also go to our
Links page and check out all the ones about Mr. Huppen for more
information about him.
How much does Jeremiah follow the original comic books by Hermann Huppen?
J. Michael Straczynski is using the comic books as a jumping-off point only. The actual show will be quite
different than Huppen's comic books; fans will already notice differences in the first
episode. While the story of the original Jeremiah comic books was primarily about
racial war, this Jeremiah will center around what it takes to build a new world. Fans
of the comic series might be dissappointed initially, but we urge you to give it a chance.
More words straight from JMS:
The book has been in print about 20 years and is in desperate need of updating; a lot of
what was in the book was fresh at the time, but we've had any number of other post-apocalyptic
stories in TV and film (A Boy and his Dog, Damnation Alley, Logan's Run, the various Mad Max
movies) along the way, and there has to be a totally fresh approach, something to bring the
thing into the 21st century. They gave me complete free rein in doing so... (Oct.4.2000)
There was an interview with J. Michael Straczynski in February's issue of Dreamwatch and had this to say about
what he used from the original comic:
Basically, you have the two characters, Jeremiah and Kurdy. These two guys are toiling
around a post-apocalyptic environment in a vehicle. That was all I took from the books. The
rest, the Big Death, all the other elements that are in the series now, were cobbled together
after the fact.
The comic seemed quite interesting to me. There's what works in comics and what works in
television. That's where I had to make the distinction and changes. They were afraid to
change elements that wouldn't work in television and I wasn't afraid to go ahead and do that.
That's why I had to come in and take the germ [of an idea] that was there and do it in a
different way that would work for television. (Feb 2003)
Also, here is what Gregory Noveck (Jeremiah's Co-Producer) said about it as well:
Even though the premise from the comic book is somewhat different than the underlying
premise for the series, the world is very similar and the character is virtually identical
between Jeremiah and Kurdy. It's that dynamic that truely drives the series and that's what
Joe [Strazczynski] latched on to. (Mar 2003)
Is it anything like Mad Max, Waterworld, or The Tribe?
As far as we can tell - definitely not! Jeremiah's production design tries to
accurately depict a world whose people live off of the remnants of the old.
And one of the influences that went INTO Mad Max was Hermann Huppen's Jeremiah.
In regards to The Tribe (which is a post-apocalypse series where a plague wiped out
all the adults on Earth and the children are left to survive in a hostile new world), J. Michael Straczynski
had this to say:
Except this isn't about the children at that time, it's about the adults they have
become...it's not about teens, it's about people now in their late 20s and below.
(Jul.22.2001)
