nbc Chuck

[+Mystic MVC]

Whew, sounds like we can take a collective sigh for the most part.

[frogger]

i'm calling it right now if sarah's preggo.

[Rappy Veteran]

i'm calling it right now if sarah's preggo.

Can't afford another cast member :p

[Tech Star]

Sounds good, as long as its not canceled or any drastic changes are made I am good. :D

[Rappy Veteran]

Chuck deserves a whole season, not just 13 episodes. Any chance of more? ? Darrylb>

MATT: Actually, yes. NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman says that while the current plan is to deliver 13 midseason episodes, depending on the ratings, "we may extend it out and continue it through the summer," where he thinks it could pair nicely with Friday Night Lights. "We're looking to ... keep [Chuck] incredibly viral and buzz-worthy until it returns, and then hopefully have it on our air for many years to come." That'd be Awesome. And even more so? I chatted up Scott Bakula at TNT's upfronts luncheon, and he's game for more Chuck, if need be.

[Dannydeman]

I loved this show from the beginning. I am kinda worried though about the new season. I love Chuck's new powers, I'm sure it will provide many good episodes. I'm worried about the whole Buy More stuff though. I loved the Buy More scenes, and it doesn't seem we'll see the buy more with morgan etc. in the new season? Will be hard to correct the story unless they use some unbelieveble writing? No way Morgan/Chuck would be accepted again if they beg to come back to the store :)

And to bad the budget will be cut. It will almost certainly lower the quality of the show.

[thefonz]

I'm actually going to put faith in the studio on this one - they clearly know what they're doing and that Chuck is an awesome show. So tease us with 13 episode "mini season" to maybe try out some new directions for the characters and then hit us with a full on season 4.

The show cant be cancelled; I blasted through the 2 seasons in pretty much a weekend last month - not many shows do that these days!

[Rappy Veteran]

Chuck - What to expect from the new season

The creators of NBC's Chuck aren't about to let the audience forget about the show during its long hiatus until midseason?they're planning some kind of Web presence, said Chuck executive producer and co-creator Chris Fedak.

"We're talking to NBC now about what is going to be the super-clever idea to kind of bridge that time. It is going to be something on the Internet to keep fan awareness alive and remind people about the show," Fedak told SCI FI Wire in an exclusive phone interview.

Fedak added that Chuck, which was picked up for midseason by NBC, may appear sooner than the expected March 2010.

Chuck is set to air in its same timeslot, on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. That's good news for fans who lobbied NBC and key sponsor Subway for the show's renewal. But with Chuck's third season planned to premiere in March 2010, that's a very long wait. "We're excited to launch after the Winter Olympics and to launch also with NBC's other new show [Day One]. But schedules aren't written in stone for a reason. So you never know. Maybe you'll see us sooner than that," Fedak said.

One thing the producers will be faced with in the new season is a smaller budget. "Across the board in television this year there's been a contraction in regard that every show has had to find ways to lower their budgets," he said. "And then [creator] Josh [schwartz] and I, we have a really an excellent production department here at Chuck, and we've made changes to the show. But essentially we're committed to delivering a show like the show last year, and the changes we're making will not impact the quality of the show. We've also, after two seasons of making the show, we've gotten better at it, just from a production perspective, and we find the efficiencies and just learning how we tell our stories."

Another factor will be the presence of Subway in the show in some way, thanks to NBC's deal with the sandwich chain. How will that presence work? "We're still in the early stages of figuring that out," Fedak said.

The show will resume production this summer. "We're actually just getting back up and running with our writers," Fedak said. "So I am knee-deep in the writers' room, working on story, kind of cutting into how we're going to tell this epic season of Chuck. ... We have some really fun, super-exciting stories up on the board, and we can't wait to tell them."

Asked about specifics, Fedak isn't too forthcoming. "You're getting nothing out of me," he said, adding: "Do you know what Schwartz would do to me if I give you anything? Mum is the word at the moment."

Maybe just a tiny, little detail? What about the teaser from a recent interview with Schwartz that there might be a romantic interest who would come between Sarah and Chuck? "Crickets. That's what you get from me. You're getting crickets on this one," Fedak said.

The one thing that isn't a secret is that the producers plan for the entire cast to return, he said. As for adding new characters, "We will be, but you're not going to get that out of me, I don't think," he said.

Expect a more physical Chuck (Zachary Levi), considering that he acquired new kung fu abilities after downloading the new Intersect. "Absolutely. Get ready for excitement," Fedak said. "And we also look forward to deepening the mythology of the show, learning more about our characters and, most importantly, having fun."

As for the possible romance between Chuck and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski)? "In the interest of vagueness, I will say that this new upcoming season of Chuck will not be lacking in romance," Fedak said.

The cagey Chuck creator did have more to say when it came to discussing the season-two finale, "Chuck vs. the Ring," however. "We were very proud," he said. "We were very proud of our entire season, but we were really excited to tell the story and that we knew where we were going, and we knew we had this big, epic finale. All the writers and producers, everyone involved in the show, we knew we weren't going to leave anything on the table for the fans of the show. We knew that essentially there would be a point in time during the final episode where everything but the kitchen sink, and maybe even the kitchen sink itself, would fly through a frame ... and you would see the Chuck show at its best." Fedak gives plenty of credit for the episode to director Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris of Star Trek: Voyager fame).

For Fedak, there was one specific moment that resonated with him, and it came during a table reading. "I sat down at the table with the cast of that episode, and I just shook my head," he said. "I felt like, for that episode, we hired most of Hollywood. I had Bruce Boxleitner, Morgan Fairchild, Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase and our cast. I mean, our fantastic, wonderful cast, and Matt Bomer as well, and I immediately demanded that we have a photograph taken, because it's something that, actually, ... this would be one of my favorite moments, this cast read-through. And they killed. They were wonderful. They were wonderful just reading the script, and they were just as wonderful on screen. Allison Adler and I wrote that script, and it was a really wonderful kind of moment to see the Actors' Studio version of our story before we filmed it."

Fedak added: "I'd just like to say, and this is more like a general thing, that we're just so thankful to our fans for all the support that they've shown. It has been ... it was incredibly important to the show, to the show's return, their energy and excitement. And the other thing, too, is that critics and journalists have been just so helpful and supportive for the show. It just seems like we needed every arrow in our quiver, and you guys were there for us." Chuck will return on NBC after the Olympics in March

[Rappy Veteran]

Chuck Star: We Could Return Sooner than Spring 2010

"Chuck could snap back into action sooner than planned, if his increasingly cool services are called for.

Though the action-comedy isn't expected to return until March 2010 ? after NBC's Winter Olympics coverage has wrapped ? cast and crew will commence production on the hard-earned Season 3 in August.

That way, "We will be ready to come back whenever we're asked to come back," Vik Sahay (who plays the Buy More's morally challenged Lester) said during a visit with TVGuide.com. "And that's good to know."

What's also good to know is that Chuck's 13-episode order could be super-sized if the series returns to strong ratings.

"That's the hope," says Sahay. "[NBC boss Ben Silverman] said he'll push us into the summer with a back nine [order], so we're planning on making the shows that good."

Season 3, of course, offers a special promise in that Chuck now can "flash" on skills ? all together now: "I know kung fu" ? as well as names and places. But how exactly will that game-changing twist amp up the new episodes?

Sahay couldn't share specifics, but said, "What I admire about [cocreators] Josh [schwartz] and Chris [Fedak] and the writers is how they put together shows that move things forward. And [Chuck's new ability] is going to make things hilarious... and wild.""

[Piggy]

I've arrived really late to this party. I'm on episode 3, and I'm loving it so far. :D

[Valerus]

I've arrived really late to this party. I'm on episode 3, and I'm loving it so far. :D

It's never too late! Glad to have you with us :D

[Pretend]

[evo0o]

^ very nice.

[Piggy]

Really cool picture there. I'm on season 2 episode 5 so far. Still quite a few episodes to go.

[Pretend]

[Lewism]

Hmmmm lovely :)

[Pretend]

The Chuck team had no real new footage to show the Comic-Con audience at today's raucous lovefest of a panel, but the cast and creators more than made up for it. If the next season is half as fun as the panel, we're all in very good hands. Some highlights:

The panel opened with a skit: One month after season two, in Josh Schwartz's office, Schwartz, co-creator Chris Fedak, and star Zachary Levi are eating lots of Subway, hoping they don't get picked up, as they ended on a lame "I know kung fu." Then they get the call they've been dreading: a pickup for season three. Their secret weapon: Jeffster. At which point Vik Sahay and Mark Christopher Lawrence took the stage and Jeffster performed "Fat Bottomed Girls"!

The Chuck story is the story of a hero in pieces, according to Fedak. And he's figuring out how he learns to put all of that together. In season three, Schwartz promised that something emotional and traumatic will happen to Chuck and Sarah: "Is that vague enough for you?"

Other hints: On the "Chuck-Fu": Levi says Chuck can't know kung fu all the time, or there'd be nothing for Casey and Sarah to do. So there's a glitch in the system. When he flashes, he gets the powers, but then they'll fade. Awesome will start to submerge into the spy world as well, given that he's the only other dude who knows Chuck's secret. Schwartz talked about playing with the idea of Casey and Ellie getting together, what with Awesome and Ellie being a little on the rocks. And Sarah's sister Corinna will be coming back to the show. And Morgan will try once again. And fail once again. Or not.

One fan asked if Chuck's powers will come with a penalty. Fedak wrote that down. "That's one. Keep 'em coming." Another asked if the Intersect also gave him language skills. "That's two." Another fan asked if there would be any Chuck action figures. Levi said he wants an action figure just so Chuck could beat up Jayne. "Not so shiny now, huh, Jayne!?"

Chuck could be back earlier than early 2010, according to Schwartz. In the meantime, they've started up Chuckmeout.com, as a hub for fans to help them survive until the show comes back.

[Mathachew Veteran]

Haha, beat up Jayne.

[Rappy Veteran]

[KoL Veteran]

LOL I want to see a video of that.

[Pretend]

LOL, have to see this!! Can't wait til the video is uploaded somewhere. I loved Chuck at last years Comic Con as well.

[giga Veteran]

Queen! Jeffster always have great music choices.

[Rappy Veteran]

haha that was awesome

[Piggy]

That was soooo awesome. I'm so happy I still have 10+ episodes to go before I start twitching for more Chuck.

[Pretend]

That is amazing, this is why I love Chuck, I hope it lives on longer than 1 more season.