Chuck Could Return Early

Just last week brought news that NBC had canceled the critically lauded and relatively well rated police drama before it even premiered the second season which was scheduled for later this month. Essentially it was deemed too dark for their open time slots now that Jay Leno occupied the 10pm hour every day of the week.

Having already closed up shop on one series and with some struggling new shows the network is in dire straits. Trauma has done decently but is very expensive to produce, Mercy has disappointed, and Heroes continues its slide downhill. This has led to some talk that Chuck could see its third season premiere moved up.

Originally set to come back in March 2010 following the Olympics, Chuck already has some episodes in the can meaning it could possibly start up later this month. The show received a 13 episode order and speculation is that may be extended to a full 22 episodes if this move is made.

While getting Chuck back would immediately be an exciting development for fans of the series, there is some concern about the situation it would be coming into. The network would not have much time to gear up marketing the new season. The second season DVD is supposed to release in December, whether they could get that out prior to the premiere would be in question. And the available time slots are not especially inviting.

So fans have a right to worry whether Chuck could start back up and earn ratings that may come across as disappointing to the executives. These are the people who have mismanaged the network to such a great extent in recent years. They could pull the trigger on cancellation and ruin the good thing that has been building with Chuck. Hopefully that is not what ends up happening.

Chuck began as something akin to a guilty pleasure for me but over its two seasons has evolved into flat out one of the best shows on TV.  The final few episodes of the last season brought so much together it was fantastic. Chuck has a special mix of comedy, action, and drama and has developed character relationships and chemistry that is rarely seen these days.