The cast of the CBS drama "Jericho" includes, from left, Lennie James, Erik Knudsen, Sprague Grayden, Ashley Scott and Skeet Ulrich. The network has decided to revive the canceled show after frenzied lobbying by fans.

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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler visited a new doctor recently for a checkup. When the doctor put his hand into the pocket of his white coat, Tassler expected the results of her lab tests. Instead, the doctor pulled out a bag of peanuts.

The reference was to "Jericho," the series Tassler took off the trash heap after frenzied lobbying by fans — many of whom sent her peanuts to echo a character who said "nuts" to surrender.

The decision to revive "Jericho" for seven episodes at midseason has made Tassler famous in some circles, infamous in others. A young man in her neighborhood camera shop did a double-take at her credit card and said, "I sent you an e-mail!" Internet message boards praised her for considering the fans' point of view.

But skeptics wonder whether "Jericho" will be able to attract enough new viewers at midseason to justify an additional pickup, or whether CBS will be forced to cancel it again, angering fans and boosting peanut sales a second time.

Others worry that Tassler's backtracking will lead followers of every failed series to launch gimmicky "save our shows" campaigns. Already, some of the TV critics meeting in Los Angeles have become reluctant to write about "Jericho" because of continued spamming by fans.

In a Q&A session with the critics, Tassler said she began to rethink the cancellation after returning from a meeting of CBS affiliates, many of which reported being flooded with calls and e-mails. Reading some of the messages to CBS, she said, "We really saw a level of audience involvement and investment in the show."

Although CBS thought it could do better with another series in the time slot, "Jericho" ratings do improve when DVR viewership is taken into account. In addition, Nielsen commercial ratings show that viewers of "Jericho" are more engaged with the advertising than those of any other show on CBS.

Some fans blamed CBS for hurting "Jericho" with a midseason hiatus, and Tassler acknowledged that, in retrospect, the break might have been a mistake. Another complaint was that not all viewers, especially those watching streaming video, were being measured.

"I went on those message boards," Tassler said. "I read many of those e-mails. And what you saw was a huge segment of the population that really felt they were not being counted."

In particular, "they had a knowledge and awareness of the show that was so detailed and so committed and so passionate, we said, 'Look, this is a rare opportunity for us to really interact with our audience and take another shot,' " Tassler said. "But we've really said to the fans, 'You have got to be our Jericho Rangers. You've got to recruit more viewers.' "

CBS will give "Jericho" plenty of promotion on its return, but Tassler makes no promises.

"We have to see whether or not the show is going to work," she said. "We think seven episodes gives us a chance to bring viewers back, really do big, heightened, dramatic stakes, and we'll see."

Despite all the time spent on "Jericho," Tassler really wanted to talk with critics about her new schedule, boasting of shows that include "Viva Laughlin," a crime-soap with music, and "Cane," a drama about a rum-producing Cuban-American family, as being "a little bit juicier, (with) a little bit more potential to attract a new audience" than typical CBS shows.

"We also have a very deep bench for midseason," she said. "Not too many networks have the flexibility to bring out a hit like 'The Amazing Race' or 'The New Adventures of Old Christine' in midseason."

Among returning shows, Tassler announced that:

• "CSI" and "Without a Trace" will stage a crossover, with William Petersen and Anthony LaPaglia appearing on each other's show on the same night.

• The season premiere of "Cold Case" will feature music entirely by Nirvana.

• Producer P.K. Simonds ("Party of Five") has taken over "Ghost Whisperer" and is creating a whole new mythology for the show. "We're going to learn that Jim and Melinda didn't choose Grandview, but rather Grandview chose Jim and Melinda."

• Horatio Caine (David Caruso) on "CSI: Miami" "will discover that he has a biological son he didn't know existed."