We can all finally exhale. After weeks of feverish anticipation, NBC has finally ended the guessing games, rumor trading, and prayer-filed hopes and done the impossible!
Yes, true believers: the promised day is finally here. Thanks to the support of fans and critics alike (along with some hefty leaning from advertisers, I am sure!), NBC has miraculously renewed Chuck for a third season.
Chuck, from creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak and Warner Bros. Television, will return for Season Three on NBC this fall, albeit with a smaller budget than previous seasons and thirteen episodes.
While the Peacock has yet to release its schedule (hang tight until Tuesday), it's believed that Chuck will likely land on Friday evenings at 8 pm this fall.
I don't know about you but I think this calls for celebration! It goes without saying that massive, heartfelt thanks go out to Subway and all of Chuck's generous sponsors for their continued support of this fantastic series and congratulations to the entire cast and crew of Chuck not only for weathering this renewal storm but also for giving us one of the most consistently entertaining and enjoyable series on television today.
One caveat, however: it's expected that, in order to secure a renewal, there will be cuts, likely on both the cast and writing staff ends. I will scream if Adam Baldwin's John Casey doesn't return but I could see the Powers That Be downgrading Sarah Lancaster, Julia Ling, or Ryan McPartlin from series regular status to recurring (and/or eliminating at least one of them). That's just speculation on my part for now but it seems that there will definitely be budget cuts and they have to come from somewhere...
Chuck will return this fall with Season Three on NBC.
Awesome -- and about time! Fingers crossed for AB to stay on. I would miss him sorely.
Also disappointed about The Unusuals, but expected as much.
Very happy to have several of the shows I wished for coming back, so much so I'll even go back and watch the Dollhouse epis I gave up on and watch Season two as a leap of faith. ;)
Sam
It's about time. Season 2 was so much fun and I loved it more than ever. Thanks for the update!
I'm sure they'll keep Adam Baldwin on. The show would greatly suffer without him. As much as Zac has the charisma to carry it on his own, he and Adam make such a great team. I imagine it'll just be less of Chuck's stable of hos.
You know, as sad as it is, I think they're going to cut a lot from the Buy More storylines. They already set it up to seriously downgrade them, what with Chuck, Casey, AND Morgan quitting. The third season was already primed to focus even more on spy!Chuck so I can understand downgrading all the Buy More kids back to recurring stars. I'll be honest, I loved Jeffster as much as the next person but they were starting to get on my nerves by the season finale.
Best. News. Ever.
Even if some of the cast don't get to come back. Everyone is all about the bottom line these days.
God, I can't think of anything to say besides "WHOOOOO-HOOOO!!!"
That is just awesome. I may have to go out and get a $5 footlong to celebrate . . .
Fuck yeah! Chuck saved! Thanks Jace for everything you did to help save the show. It's an amazing victory for fans everywhere.
Love the news, though I think 13 episodes is one foot out the door so it is going to take an increased groundswell of support to keep the show going. I agree that if anyone goes, it would only make sense if it were an employee at the Buy More. I think Ellie and Awesome are off-limits as they are family to the main character and a good source of go-to tension and motivation for Chuck to protect. They put a face on the "country" he is trying to protect. One small thing is I would imagine this would rule out bringing back Scott Bakula. I love that guy and the father-son dynamic was terrific. All that said, I am very happy with the news.
Snoopy dance!!
YES!!! Now lets keep up the enthusiasm people. Maybe we should make Friday nights Subway sub nights so we can watch and eat at the same time. Also, lets make sure to thank the people at NBC for saving Chuck! I really hope we don't loose anyone from the cast. I love watching John Casey and the show wouldn't be the same without him. As far as the Buy More team, we can't let Emmett have the store. We must get it back for Big Mike and the crew. I can see Sarah and Captain Awsome not being there every episode if Chuck finally moves out.
First off -- WOOHOO!!!!
On a more somber note, I expected and was resigned to a 13-episode renewal, but I'll take what "Chuck" I can get. My guess is that with the trend of 13-episode renewal orders for their struggling shows, NBC is hedging its bets on the "Jay Leno 5x week" gamble...if the Leno plan really bombs and they end up scaling back the # of his shows per week, NBC will be able to shuffle its programming and order back-9s of existing shows like "Chuck" and "Southland" instead of going through the expense of developing brand new shows to fill empty time slots on their schedule.
I have faith that the producers and writers of "Chuck" will have a clever way of dealing with the budget limitations and the possibility of eliminating or downgrading supporting cast member(s) and/or staff writer(s), sad as the latter may be.
Great job with the grassroots effort of pushing for the return of "Chuck", people! Our mission going forward: 1) get more friends to watch, and 2) money talks -- let's keep "Chuck" advertisers like Subway happy and show our appreciation for their support!
Happy Day!!! yes Chuck fans, lets thank NBC by making another (or first) donation -- no matter how small -- to the AHA and send a note to NBC execs reading "A heartfelt thank you, NBC, for renewing Chuck." find out more at weheartchuck.blogspot.com/. thanks for being awesome, fans!
I could see them cutting Lancaster, Ling, and McPartlin's parts. Albeit being a "regular" on the show for the second season, they were not in every episodes. Not much to be surprised about if one of the three's screentime is cut back.
Baldwin and Strahovski MUST stay. Though this is Chuck's show (aka Levi's), it wouldn't be as awesome as it has been if it weren't for the terrific Strahovski and Baldwin.
Friday night death time slot say it ain't so!
They can cut Tony Hale.... love the actor, hate the character.
YES, YES, YES!!!! Thank you for the good news Jace and for being a force for bringing Chuck back I will not forget that you told Ben Silverman to bring it back and I cant wait for Chuck this fall on NBC !!!!!!
Can't say I'll miss the Buy More storylines, they felt forced and out of place for most of season two. I hope Alec Baldwin stays on and I'm really looking forward seeing the third season :)
YAY! This news made my day! Thanks for all of your work keeping us updated on the Chuck renewal saga!
OMG!!!! I am jumping up and down! This is the best news all year! I don't care who gets cut just as long as the show comes back. Thank you NBC!!!!!
Thank you, NBC! You've made the millions of fans who tune in every week to watch CHUCK very happy. I didn't know if things would turn out this way but I am thrilled that you saw the show's potential and rewarded its very loyal fan base. I'm going to get a Subway foot long for lunch now! :)
Great news, of course, but I don't mind saying I'm concerned about the 13-ep order, midseason placement, and budget cuts. I don't mind fewer special fx--the writing easily compensates--but casting cuts could be fatal. But again, I have faith the writers can rise to the challenge and--for example--increase the A story if the Buy More B story has to be cut.
Here's hoping Subway sees concrete benefits from their support of NBC and Chuck!