start promoting chuck! bring it back in november!!!

do you think nbc's expectations will change if they launch the show now? i am sure the fact that they did 0 promo will factor in to the low ratings. seems to me chuck does have a pretty loyal fan base aynwaz i do hope that nbc isnt stupid enough to not factor in the 0 promo that will lead to low ratings if so and chuck gets cancelled i will be sad.

YES! Finally something good from NBC! Apparently they might move Heroes back to 9pm and Chuck will then show at 8/7c like it used it.. Who knows.. :S

Can't wait to hear more on this.. I'll be keeping my site updated when more news come in so be sure to check it out ;)

Agent Chuck,

As of now we have no idea what Subway's return on the series is going to be, and what precisely the details of the deal between NBC, WB and Subway are. It could be as simple as name-dropping, or that there will just be a lot of Subway sandwiches devoured by Big Mike and the rest of the Buy More crew this season.

All that's been revealed is that Subway IS going to have a presence somewhere.

NBC please listen to all of us!

Chuck can be a cornerstone show to build around. If not. then I hope CBS picks up another NBC mistake ( we all know NBC will eventually and unfortunately will cancel Chuck) remember JAG that in turn became
NBC should become a Jay Leno Dateline wasteland

How can you Subway foot a large portion of the season and get no set. They must be pissed. I am sure that they will not be backing the show in the future.

Whatever they choose to do with Chuck, NBC needs to make sure they promote WHEN and WHAT TIME it's comming back. I didn't know Heroes was comming back except for 1 ad I saw on NBC 6 days before. I still almost missed it because I expected it to be on at 9pm. PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE!!!

I would love to watch Chuck next week.
I agree with Jenna though. I think we need a few weeks (months?) of promotion first.

Don't muck with the 13 episode arc is all I ask. If an additional 9 is ordered, make them a separate mini-season.

As long as Subway stays involved, Chuck has a great chance. Look at a bubble show like Friday Night Lights, suddenly DirectTV throw piles of cash into it and what happens? A 2 year renewal!!! no matter what happens with the ratings. Just goes to show that no matter how well a show does, if a sponsor throws money at it, it can survive

This would be TERRIBLE for the show!! :( Putting it on in Oct means in a couple of weeks!? Without ANY promotion! Not good...not good at all! I hope NBC doesn't make that decision. As much as I would love to be able to start watching the show again IMMEDIATELY...I want the show to have a chance to survive and succeed....

Sorry Agent Chuck- No Subway set. Warner Bros International sales put that idea to rest.

Subway is going to be part of the show. They built a subway set.

mike,

TDL hits it closer to the mark, I think. If Chuck had followed up the Superbowl with Versus the Best Friend (which based on the production codes was the original order prior to the 3D tie-in being announced) or even Versus the Suburbs--both of which were much stronger episodes--and it hadn't been preempted by Obama it MIGHT have been a different outcome (obviously it's not guaranteed)

Rick brings up a VERY good point about the Subway campaign. There's a LOT about Chuck that throws the book out on broadcaster/advertiser relationships. The rules are really being rewritten here, as this is the first fan "Save Our Show" campaign I'm aware of that DIRECTLY targeted a series' advertisers. Subway has even gone on record that the "Finale Footlong" campaign had a significant impact on their sales the day of the S2 Finale. Their direct involvement in the renewal of the show is also unprecedented. It also caused some corporations not even INVOLVED with the series to take notice (Nestle/Wonka had a huge shipment of Nerds sent to NBC's offices).

Maybe it's too much to hope that this is the first nail in the coffin of the Nielsens, but Networks would be insane not to take notice. This is really uncharted territory.

I don't know if this is indicative of anything, but the Ausiello item has more than 450 comments on the Entertainment Weekly site and is on top of the "most-talked about posts" list. Based on that (and the response that Chuck always gets on this website), you'd think Chuck was one of the most popular shows on TV! Chuck also has had more than 1.5 million online episode views since the first of August, according to Chuckmeout.com, and that would seem to be a good thing. However, we've seen with the Sarah Connor Chronicles that online interest does not always translate into ratings, as contradictory as that may seem.

Even so, I would love if all the online interest translates into an increase in viewers for Season 3. My wishful-thinking heart keeps hoping that Chuck will come back with better numbers than when it left. My rational-thinking head knows this is probably not true, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised.

@Jamie. I would be more likely to agree with your statement if there wasn't the HUGE factor of the Subway deal involved in this. This is pretty unprecedented in "modern day" TV, to have a sponsor so intimately involved so as to "actually appear" in the show. I don't think Subway - which is a smart organization (having either more franchises/stores or are a close 2nd to McDonalds) - would make a stupid deal to be SO assoicated with/involved in a show if it's future was only to be used as "burn off episodes." There's more here than that. The "writing was on the wall" at the end of season 2 - but the show came back because of the Subway deal. If Subway continues to see a return on their "investment" in Chuck during S3, there's no reason why they shouldn't be willing to back it in a possible S4. So go eat a footlong and think about it!

Mike,

The superbowl promotion did actually drastically increase the numbers on the 3D episode. You are right in that Obama's speech the following week didn't help though and it also didn't help that the episode that got promoted was gimmicky and overall mediocre. Fact is though that promotion got that episode very good ratings. It worked.

Ambaryerno - Chuck season 2 premiered 1 month after the Summer Olympics. Chuck's 3D episode premiered 1 day after the Super Bowl. Neither of these did much to help ratings, and Obama's speech the week after didn't help either...

"Jeffster concerts in the Olympics village!"

HAHAHAHA! I LOVE this! In addition to Zach, Adam and Yvonne, they should start getting JEFFSTER! out there. Do a guest musical number on SNL, Leno or Conan. And have them actually do it in character, with Scott and Vic interviewing AS Jeff and Lester. Jeff's bizarreness is sure to get a lot of people's attention on its own.

As for the DVD, Season 2's DVD is already out in the UK, so the set IS ready to go. It was going to be released in August until the series was scheduled for spring, at which point it was pushed back (within a couple weeks of release, IIRC), so it's not like they can't get it out.

Also, one note about the "failure" of the Summer Olympics promotion: Chuck's second season didn't premier until 2-3 months after the Olympics ended. Season 3 is scheduled to start the night AFTER.

Cant you people see the writing on the wall? NBC's fall has been so bad they are going to burn off episodes of Chuck.....The show was renewed only as a trade off to Warner Brothers because NBC did not pick up a show produced by their studio that had hefty fees involved.....Chuck is dead.

Bottom line for NBC is they need viewers. Chuck doesn't provide the biggest numbers, but it does provide consistency. It's far more reliable than anything other than Biggest Loser. It's really the only show NBC has now that could help jump start a future hit (which makes this WB show worth promoting and plugging into prime spots 0 it can help future NBC branded shows). They need to protect this show for that reason. Here's what I would do in NBC's shoes:

Axe Trauma - it's expensive and unwatchable.
Plan on axing Mercy (unwatchable and underperforming on what could be a winnable timeslot) - but use it as filler in a timeslot you already know will kill anything - Mondays at 8 or 9.


Bring Chuck back in November on Wed 8. It could win timeslot and bring some more viewers to the show and network in general (especially use to promote Thursday comedies more). Listen, Idol is a juggernaut on Wed Jan-May. But, with DVR and channel flipping, you can still retain fans despite Idol - and finishing 2nd behind Idol would still be a gain for NBC.

As a fan I don't want Chuck in the middle of NBC's hot mess that is the fall schedule. But if I were an NBC exec I see the benefit is staying afloat and a small (but one of few) opportunities to find success.

I read a few of the early post and skipped to the end. From what I did read, many are torn as to whether or not see Chuck come back early or wait. Those who fear that an early start with very little promotion will spell the end of Chuck, and I agree, it may. However, if NBC waits until March they will have nobody interested in watching ANY of their shows, so why watch Chuck then? At one time I was totally against this but now I vote to get it on TV as soon as possible, promote the hell out of it, fill it for 22 episodes and interrupt it as little as possible so we can look forward to a full season, even if it is the last one.

I think they should just go ahead and bring it back. I'm with Rick. I'm not buying that the Olympic promotion is going to be make-or-break for a potential season 4. Waiting until March will mean almost a full year in between seasons, and did the summer Olympics or the Super Bowl really help season 2's ratings?

Put it on Wednesday, NBC. It will do fine, especially by your standards.

"Chuck" fits well with NBC's new philosophy of "not gritty."

burn off ..... this show will never make it to season 4

I miss Chuck. As for now I watch Bones, NCIS, Big Bang, Medium, and GLEE. I also watch Hulu for other programs. NBC used to be the network I watched the most but lately they have nothing on. If they promote the hell out of Chuck and place it on Wednesday or Thursday it has a shot of getting better ratings, but back on Monday now with football and House it is a death wish. However whenever it returns I will be sitting there with a footlong and cola watching my fave show.

Why can't Chuck be heavily (and quickly) promoted online? On youtube or facebook, etc. Videos on those sites seem to be rapidly disseminated.

NBC should let fans write the press releases for the nights Chuck is on. The fans will spin the numbers harder than NBC will!

I really think it's safer premiering after the Olympics. Let more of NBC's new series tank. Then the bar will be set lower and Chuck won't have to perform that well in the ratings to get a renewal. An early start now will be a hard, hard thing for Chuck to get by. Remember, it was a bubble show last season, this isn't an assured hit (and even NBC's assured hits are failing them), so an awkward late-October start won't do it any favors.

What are Ausiello's pimples telling him? His shtick is solely for flyovers.

Big news!! Im not sure whether I want it back now or after the olympics. Maybe first 13 before and back nine after with lots of advertising to support it.

But writers were saying that it was a possibility of chuck coming back earlier than march so i don't think that it would have any impact on quality of the show

While I believe that the writers are capable of creating a great 22 episode story arc, at this point they have pretty much committed to a 13 episode story arc. They already have filmed the first four episodes with the understanding that they have 13 uninterupted episodes to play with. If NBC changes the rules midway through the creative process and the writers have to adjust their storyline, it could compromise the quality of the remaining episodes if they try to stretch the storyline out 22 episodes. Even if they go the other route and produce the 13 episodes exactly as planned (and come up with a separate 9 episode arc to air at the end of the season), there are still going to be unplanned for breaks in the schedule. If they don't have proper cliffhangers in those specific episodes, it will probably lose viewers during the hiatus.

I love Chuck as much as anybody, and part of me wishes they would go ahead and start airing them in October. Outside of Thursday nights, the fall schedule is woefully lacking in shows that I watch. It would be great for one of my favorite shows to be on Mondays or Wednesdays. But I also believe that Chuck pretty much has to pull season 3 off seamlessly in order for it to get to a season 4. I think forcing them to air episodes early would be a horrible way to start.

olddarth - You don't have to call somebody something to imply it. Statements along the line of "You just don't seem to understand what I so clearly do" imply something - and they're condescending. I'll say it again, OF COURSE I understand that more people will be watching NBC during the Olympics! I appreciate your reminding me of it, but I DO understand it.

You've got a well thought out, reasoned opinion. Mine differs, but it's no less thought out and it DOESN'T overlook the fact that, YES, more people will be watching NBC during the Olympics. It just doesn't put as much stock in the Olympic "boost" as your view does.

So let's proceed then with this. I DO understand your premise, but then how do we explain how OTHER SHOWS seem to survive "interruptions" and do quite fine (and I'm not just talking about extremely popular shows like LOST). Why is CHUCK so susceptible to failing because of interruptions? As much as I LOVE the show - it's my favorite - if CHUCK can't garner a large enough audience and then KEEP it - especially after what will be its THIRD season - then maybe it doesn't deserve to be around for much longer (as much as that pains me to say).

I still think that the vicious Monday night time slot is more responsible for CHUCK's problems than any interruptions. You're up against a wall when your competition is literally a television PHENOMENON - DWTS, and then add HOUSE and the CBS comedies and you've got problems.

Someone at another site (chucktv.net?) suggested that if the show comes back "early," then go with the 13 episode arc that many (maybe correctly) seem to see as the key to success - then the dreaded "interruption" - followed by a 9 episode arc. It's almost like have two seasons within a season. That seems logical, reasonable - and you can still "use" the Olympics to promote, promote, promote your "Back 9." If the "Back 9" does well in the ratings and if Subway shows a good return on their investment as well, then S4 has a good shot.

I want the show to survive just as much as you do. And I want to continue to work side-by-side with you and all the other Chuckaholics to see that it does - even if that means eating Subway until it comes out of my ears. Let's just hope that whatever the network brass decide to do, it WILL work!

Time will tell.

maybe it is just a way to remind people about the show, i mean look how much traffic it got just from the rumor, maybe NBC did it on purpose... it's free buzz on there part, and how AWESOME would that be for Chuck if they where doing something like that? Although it is a little far fetched... maybe not just a little...

Sorry I'm not going to read all 117 comments. Happy to read this good news and hopefully NBC will cancel that crapfest called Trauma.

I really want to see Chuck, but I don't know if this is a good thing. They've got like what 15 days to market it even though they haven't even announced for sure it's coming back? I think a January airdate would probably be best.

I know Chuck would do better if it aired at its regularly assigned date but I really want to see Chuck again so now I'm torn.

Rick - the only one that called you a name is you.

You know as well as I do that Chuck aired the 3D episode after the SuperBowl, not the most representative show of the series, and then was, wait for it, INTERRUPTED the following week. So the SuperBowl promo momentum was nullified.

A quality arc for Chuck would improve its chances of renewal though, don't you think?

This early return will bring Christmas and Olympic interruptions and we have seen the impact on the show when that happens. All these things auger against Chuck returning now.

The mistake Johnjohn made is thinking his opinion means anything.

And you are stating it like a fact, while it's only your opinion Johnjohn.

While it may not be masterfull, it's very very good, often great and imo the most fun show last season.
Maybe not the funniest one, the laugh per minute ratio is little lower than in best sitcoms, but still very funny, not best plotted, but it had perfectly good one for a comedy show, but the combination of comedy, good action, some family and romantic drama and all around great cast made it the most fun show to watch in it's second season.

What they should do is put CHUCK at 9, after HEROES, and move TRAUMA to Fridays.

The one mistake everybody makes is this: Chuck ain't the masterful show you all claim it is. Sorry.

olddarth - Thanks for thinking I'm an idiot. OF COURSE I REALIZE THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL BE WATCHING NBC DURING THE OLYMPICS - but I also realize that's no guarantee for a successful promotional campaign for CHUCK.

The Superbowl is one of, if not THE largest viewed television event in American Television. CHUCK had all kinds of "pub" before and during the Superbowl. And what did we get out of it - a ratings boost for a 3D episode which PROBABLY did more in the long run to hurt rather than help ratings - and a rest of the season where we were tetering on cancellation - and WOULD have been cancelled had not some fan come up with the Subway campaign. Conclusion: Big Television event promotional campaigns are not a guarantee for CHUCK's success.

It's not about "instant gratification," it's about believing that the Olympics are likely not going to be the "save all" for Chuck. Could a GOOD Olympics promo campaign help - probably, yes - but it's no anointed savior for the show. And since when did a "tight 13 episode arc" ever guarantee the success of a TV show? The guys at this web site would know far better than me, but I think that the more popular/higher Nielsen rated shows have longer seasons than 13 episodes. Are you saying the writers of Chuck aren't up to the task of making an outstanding 22 episode storyline for S3? I think they are.

Is an "interrupted season" a risk? Sure it is. I'm right with you there. But if you interrupt it cleverly enough - and then use the beloved Olympics as a promo for it's RETURN - then you can still pull this off.

Bottom line is that there's no guarantee that CHUCK is going to have a S4 coming back now or in March. If it comes back now and winds up getting cancelled - then we'll (hopefully) have had 22 episodes of its final season to enjoy instead of just 13. But hopefully there will be a S4.

I'll keep the faith that if it comes back relatively soon, it still has a fighting chance. As always, it will rely heavily on the fan base - but, hey - we didn't it once before. Who says we can't do it again.

So we may not see eye to eye - but THANKS for loving the show and for all that you do to promote it!!

Maybe in the end this is all just more fuel for "Chuck Chatter" and March is a done deal anyway.

Seems like NBC doesn't care about any of its show anymore. Chuck will probably just get rapped ad treated like sh*t like every other show on the Network. NBC should merge with the CW, Dawn and the actual dude ruining, erf... I mean running NBC could make bad shows and bad decisions together. Its just a shame to see an excellent show like Chuck getting in the crossfire. Or saying a promising show like Day one getting 4 episodes instead of a real season, or again see the treatment they'll give to J.J new spy show (nothing yet, but I'm sure we will assist to another shot at NBC's show raping)

Verus - Trauma is supposed to be next on the axe list due to its high costs they might shut down production before the 13 episodes are all shot

Probably good news for Chuck this.

But what will they cancel to make room for Chuck early btw ?

Rick Holy - if you cannot see how many more people will be watching NBC during the Olympics than they are now for promotional purposes don't know what to tell you.

The big issue is an early return of Chuck brings ANOTHER interrupted season and we have seen how the show has fared so far under those conditions. Do it again and this could be the show's last season? You want to gamble against that just for a couple months of earlier instant gratification?

Chuck is poised to deliver a cable quality, tightly scripted 13 episode arc. This was a singular opportunity that the show may never get again to run at such a high level of quality. That is worth waiting for.

Yeah if Chuck comes back by the end of October it is dead.

It would likely be paired with Heroes again, and...yeah, that Monday night wouldn't live to see next fall.

On the off-chance it got Wednesday at 8 instead...the outcome wouldn't be much better I don't think.

I say if you are going to bring Chuck back early, go with Wednesdays at 8. It should easily beat most of the other shows. I agree with all the negativity towards NBC's ability to market, well, anything. Virgin 1 has great ads for Chuck-they should tap whoever made those. You can check them out on YouTube. Chuck is a hard show to describe because it has elements of so many genres.
I also agree with Rick and they should get the big three (Zach Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, and Adam Baldwin) on the talk show circuit ASAP. If nothing else, they could keep the buzz going for the show. They also need to put Season 2 out on DVD sooner rather than later. Chuck Me!

what's the difference between monday now and monday in march. house will still be house in march, and cbs will still be cbs in march. there's no reason not to bring it back now on mondays. you can't argue that it shouldn't go against house when it will eventually anyway, thats just the best excuse you could come up with to trash ausiello, who you always seem to hate on.

Lotheo,

The series premiere of Southland debuted in the Thursday at 10 timeslot, exactly one week after the ER finale, which contained about a thousand promos for Southland. That will be a much more hospitable welcome than anything they can come up with for Chuck, or any other returning show for that matter.

18 days, it's late where I am....

The idea that they would, under this plan ("plan" probably too strong a word for NBC), start airing S3 episodes before releasing the previous season on DVD would be practically unprecedented in recent TV history.

Agree with the post above that SNF promos are not effective for a show airing on Monday (vs. MNF).

I wanted the show aired in Wednesday b/c of the more organized promotion and presentation, but also b/c it would give us the scenario of "acting last", like being "on the button" for you hold em poker players out there, with almost all of the information already available to NBC about how (poorly) their other shows were doing before Chuck began.

Wow, NBC has screwed themselves. If the show starts Oct 28, that's only 17 days from now, NBC would have to have blitzkreig-like marketing to pull it off. Even then, that's 8 episodes at most before Christmas, then another 5-6 before the olympics, then the back 9 starting in March. Welcome back to last season's continuity problem. I hope schwartz/Fedak start secretly shopping themselves to another network for Season 4.

Got my fingers crossed for Wed. 8. Yeah, Idol is rough in the spring, but not worse than DWTS, House, and CBS comedies. I'd bring Chuck back right away too. It was a boneheaded move not to try and capitalize asap on the buzz Chuck was generating last Spring. Why let it go for even more months? They can have promos ready by this week Thurs, no problem. Between Sun, Tues, and Thurs, NBC does have some strength on the schedule. If they choose, they have places to put promotional muscle behind Chuck. Flood it.

One of the things that they could do to promote the show is to give it the Saturday night repeat slot of whomever gets bumped. I think that worked reasonably well in the fall of 2007 when it premiered. It might have a bit of a drag on the Monday or Wednesday episodes but it does have a cumulative effect on viewing of the particular episode.

Sadly, this statement from Bill is so true: NBC can succeed – because it is on NBC.

Eh, I don't see how late night show appearances can help the show. Last season, Levi did alot of those for the premiere.

But I think if NBC do put the effort in promoting the show, it can somewhat succeed. Look at the series premiere of Southland. The network can get people's attention, but they need todo it right. That means, no more of those lame promos for Chuck ; they need better PR people.

Promoting Chuck on SNF is almost moot if Chuck comes back to its original time-slot. A good majority of people who watches SNF also watches MNF.

The supposed Olympics promotional push is no guarantee for success for the show if it returns in March. The Superbowl was supposed to be a big publicity thing along with the 3D episode and look what that got us - barely enough for a Season 3 - which truthfully we wouldn't have even gotten if one fan (Wendy Farrington) hadn't come up with a brilliant Subway campaign (it's not like NBC came up with it).

Bring it back a few weeks from now. That will give enough time for a decent publicity campaign. Put Zach and Yvonne on Leno, Conan, and Falon. Advertise the heck out of it on Sunday Night Football and during whatever NBC shows there are that are even remotely successful right now. And of course, there's the TODAY show which Zach has appeared on in the past. Add to that some kind of in store Subway campaign - that's not so hard to come up with quickly - Posters in the stores and maybe some kind of sandwich special - and there you go.

Everyone seems to think that an Olympics publicity campaign is somehow going to be a Savior for Chuck. That's a gamble. Bringing it back now is a gamble, too - but if they spend a few weeks doing the RIGHT kind of publicity campaign, it could work. Even a March return wouldn't guarantee a Season 4 - so bring it back now and let's see what happens.

Another problem is the season 2 DVD set hasn't been release yet---which may help potential new viewers on catching up.

If Chuck comes back early, I see it struggling just to stay above a 2.0.

The dead hour of 8pm on Wednesday (no tv show has average at least 10 mil viewers nor a 3.0 demo for the past few seasons) would probably be the best bet.

Bittersweet news...glad to see it come back early but not in the dump that NBC is in right now. At least if it does relatively well enough, the back 9 would be a lock.

It's about time, NBC is struggling right now. There is no problem in bringing it back at this time. It will either be moved to Weds or stay on Monday's

Dee: I was only half-kidding...

...before Maura Tierney on ER, there was Julie London on Emergency!...

...and before Southland, there was Adam-12 :)

Five-0? Not sure that's a good idea - where are they going to get another Jack Lord? On L&O: CI, Goldblum couldn't replace D'Onofrio...

...and merely a cop show? No - the original one was really an advert for hair lacquer and the Hawai'i Tourism Bureau, so the new one should be sufficiently different to contrast with the Cop Broadcasting System...

...I just hope they don't mess up the original theme too much :|

"Nothing on NBC can succeed – because it is on NBC."
That pretty much sums up the situation accurately.

If an early return mucks with the current 13 episode arc then Chuck will die. So Bill et al enjoy the early return while you can. The price? Future seasons of the show. Is that something you can really even want to tempt?

I sure don't.

It would seem that "stirring the hornet's nest" is Ausiello's primary MO.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I just saw, i think the 1st promo for V, so if you promote it now, it's just about enough time to promote it.

Not ideal, but the more i think about the $4 million per episode of Trauma, and how NBC is looking to save money, cancel Southland, reduce Day One to Mini Series, airing Dateline.

ABC is struglling almost as bad, relative to ABC's standards.
I don't see them wanting to bring back LOST early, and it's a top 10 show.

If NBC gives Chuck a back 9 for 2.0-2.5 for the fall, I'd definitely want it to come back soon. I'm worried if it does come back, NBC will stick it back on Mondays, or won't promote it enough.

Why can't we just have Chuck 24/7 365 for 10 years?

Theoacme: I know you are being funny, but I have to admit I'd watch more of your NBC schedule than I do of the one they are actually airing.

At least there was a little good TV news today. Lauren Graham joining Parenthood makes me happy. That show wasn't even on my radar, but now I will definitely be there. It doesn't even matter if it's no good.

And then there is word that CBS is going forward with a Hawaii Five-0 pilot. I HOPE that's good, although I'm not quite sure where the Eye is going to possibly put yet another cop show.

Yeah Bill it makes no sense.

But so far, nobody has said anything that isn't just as true in March as it is now. How is NBC going to be doing any better in March? It's top rated show (football) is over.

Do we really think that the Olmypic promotion is the savior for the show? The summer Olympics sure didn't do much for Chuck last season. Because NBC didn't promote it very well. What makes us think it is going to be a priority this winter?

The show hasn't aired an episode yet. So we don't know what ratings it will get. My assumption is that it will struggle a little at first and slowly build momentum. That's what happened last season. And it ended up averaging about 2.5. If that isn't good enough, then, no matter what, it is toast.

But if 2.5 isn't good enough, what replaces it?

This seems a circular argument. Nothing on NBC can succeed - because it is on NBC.

They said Chuck couldn't compete with the fall lineup. This is the same people that said Trauma would. LOL

If Chuck premiered in the fall it would do better than Trauma. :)

Returning on Monday at 8pm in late October or early November with little promotion would be the worst of all options. Chuck is a show that needs a steady run of episodes to build up momentum. Instead it would get 6 or 7 episodes then the christmas break, 4 or 5 episodes in the new year then the olympic break then, hopefully a run of 11 episodes until the end of the year.

NBC may take the view that if 30 Rock has to do this then why should Chuck be spared the same challenges.

Getting 8pm on Wednesday would be better initially as the competition is weaker, but in the new year it would face American Idol, which is worse than facing House, of course the ABC and CBS comedies are still weaker than the non-House competition on Mondays. Add to that the fact that Chuck tends to skew male while Idol (I think) skews mainly female and there is still some room for Chuck to succeed (shoot for second).

The other question is if NBC would want to do this with a show that has a major sponsor, if NBC is willing to throw a sponsored show to sink or swim without proper promotion then potential sponsors for shows will be reluctant to do so with NBC for other shows. They may be cutting them selves off for potential revenue (or at least reduced costs) from sponsors.

Auseillo is right that this is probably one of the options being pitched to Gaspin, but there is nothing to idicate that this is the one that he will follow.

not possible, but i'd love to see chuck come on thursdays! my 2 favorite shows right now are the office and 30 rock anyway, so to see chuck come on from 8-9, the office 9-9:30, 30 rock 9:30-10, and leno from 10-11, it could work perfectly. chuck has the comedy in it to fit right in on the "thursday night comedy block" or whatever they're calling it. took a lot of thinking, but who says it can't be done? doesnt look like community or parks & recreation is getting that great of an audience? just my opinion :)

Mark says:

NBC announced that if Day One does well in ratings, it might come back as a series in the 2010/2011 series!


Mark,
It originally was a series to begin with, and then NBC recently changed it to a 4-part (?) miniseries. That tells me that NBC does not honestly feel that it will be successful. Besides, if NBC decides on a show after 4 episodes (like it did with Southland) the results might be similar to Southland. I think part of the reason NBC changed Day One to a miniseries vice a tv show was because the show was panned during the upfronts. No one that saw a sneak preview of the show thought it was good. So I wouldn't hold my breath on it being a show, but then again this is NBC so you might get your wish.

NBC announced that if Day One does well in ratings, it might come back as a series in the 2010/2011 series!

As much as I am a Chuck fan, I do not want to see it come back in October. I agree that there has been no exposure for the show and I think that bringing it back early would set the show up for failure. NBC made it a point of saying that the Subway promotion/Save Chuck campaigns helped get it a third season, but that NBC did not feel that it was strong enough to compete against a fall lineup, hence the reason for waiting until after the Olympics to air Chuck. They figured that running Chuck into the late Spring and Summer would be better for the show and garner better ratings, so bringing it back early would boggle the mind. Besides, where would you put it right now? If it goes back to Mondays, then NBC logically can't bet on anything better (ratings wise) than they got last year.
I would be intigued to see Chuck on Thursdays as the lead-in to the Office and 30 Rock. Neither Community nor Parks and Recreation have done that well. In fact, if memory serves me correctly P & R fell below a 2.0 rating last week and I think this week at 2.3 was a season high. I don't honestly see either show lasting. Also, both Community and P & R only had 13 episodes ordered, so let the shows run their course and not give them a full season pick-up.

That begs the question, if Chuck were brought back on another night, and Community and P & R do not receive a back 9 pick-up, what would NBC replace those shows with? Keeping with the comedy night, Chuck would seem like a good fit.

Thoughts?

How much would it cost for NBC to broadcast programs from the Universal library?

Presumably zero cost, save for residuals - they could presumably get 0.5 ratings and make money.

Revised schedule:

Sunday:

7-11 - Sunday Night Football (fall)
7-11 - Sunday Night Foosball (winter)
7-11 - Celebrity Apprentice (spring)
7-11 - The Chopping Block (summer)

Monday:

8-8:30 - Dragnet (50's)
8:30-9 - Adam-12
9-10 - Alfred Hitchcock
10-11 - Jay Leno

Tuesday:

8-9 - Colombo
9-10 - L&O: SVU
10-11 - Jay Leno

Wednesday:

8-8:30 - Coach
8:30-9 - Dragnet (60's)
9-10 - Ironside
10-11 - Jay Leno

Thursday:

8-8:30 - The Office
8:30-9 - 30 Rock
9-10 - Emergency
10-11 - Jay Leno

Friday:

8-9 - L&0
9-10 - Dateline: SVU
10-11 - Jay Leno

Saturday:

8-11 - Indian Head Test Pattern

Sunday:

12:00 am - forever - dead air

I agree that Monday is terrible. Thursday at 8 was always my suggestion, and it's certainly better but I don't think it's going to happen.

I do think it's conceivable that it might go Wednesdays at 8, and I think it would do well there. That night is just so bad, how can it not do much better? It's certainly not a 9 o'clock show. I'd say they move Mercy to Trauma's old spot (it will go down in the ratings accordingly, but it's much less expensive - and I think it'll probably do better because it doesn't look as terrible)

Bill, I do not know what the word axed means in your industry but in this one it means canceled. CHUCK was not canceled.

Well, if they want to give Chuck a 7.3% chance of seeing a 4th season, bring it back early. It's not a strong show in the ratings department and it's not going to do well without a strong (and sensible, i.e. NO 3-D crap!) publicity push, something the Winter Olympics can provide. I still believe its best chance to make it to a 7th season (not just a 4th, but a 7th) is to wait until after the Winter Olympics, tie it in to the Olympics via PR stunts (Jeffster concerts in the Olympics village!), and begin right after the torch is put out, to be lit again in London.

If Chuck can't bring in the viewers with a push from the Winter Olympics, sensible PR, and a good set of stories, then Chuck was never meant to have a 4th season. So be it. I still believe, though, that March is its best chance, and, shredded schedule or not, I would rather that NBC simply leave it on the bench, fill holes as it can, and go with Plan A.

Bill, if NBC pours enough money into development, they can come up with enough shows to fill every slot, if they wanted to. If they really want to get out of this hole, they will keep Leno for another year, while they pour money into finding the best possible shows ever to fill Monday 8-10, Wednesday 8-10 and Thursday 8-9, with enough left over for midseason replacements. The sort of money it would require to do that is probably a lot more than they want to spend, and maybe more than they could ever hope to spend, but it's the only realistic way for them to turn their network around. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If they honestly think that renewing mediocre shows (ratings wise) simply because they are at or above NBC's average, and the shows will suddenly become hits, the network deserves to fade into oblivion.

But last year, Chuck's 2.5 and Medium's 2.7 (I think) weren't good enough. So they were axed. And replaced by shows like Trauma and Mercy with their 1.8.

Perhaps the argument is that Chuck would be doing a 1.8 (or less) as well. I don't see it.

Sure. If NBC could come up with a show that would beat 2.5, they would do it. No brainer. What is that show? They can't scrap everything. They have to show something in that slot, right?

If I were NBC (right after I blew my brains out) I would want to know how much of Chuck's problems were due to the time slot. That's what was so disappointing to me about the March start. What were they learning? I would love to see it on Wednesdays. I would have even preferred Fridays to waiting until March for Monday at 8:00.

Somehow I don't see coming in 2nd to American Idol later in the season (if Chuck returns on Wednesdays) as a bad thing. Nothing NBC has in the pipeline could ever compete there. Chuck could still keep 2nd place.

Returning on Mondays would just be sacrificing it.

Bill, EVERY NBC show is down this fall.

From our indexes perspective if most everything on NBC is pulling below a 2.0 and Chuck pulls a 2.1 it will look good, but the Index will need special "But this is NBC so that's not saying much!" I think at a 2.1 it's in the realm of Julia's point where NBC would be wise to scrap practically everything. I love Chuck, but if its strength was "mediocre ratings but consistently mediocre ratings" (based on last year) and you're setting a bonfire, I don't think that spares it.

Bill,

I would think it would simply be because it would be returning on such short notice. With no promotion loyal viewers who don't regularly visit online sites like this one won't know the show is even back on the air. That being said since not many watch NBC anymore I'm not really sure how much promotions for the show would really do right now. The only real way I can see the word getting out there on such short notice is somehow getting the media involved or Subway breaking out heavy advertising that could be run on other channels.

But one of Chuck's strengths was it's consistancy. It held it's audience when other shows were slippimg. And one of it's main competitors, BBT, is gone. BBT competed for the same audience in a way that DWTS and House don't.

Not trying to be a Pollyanna about this, but why would Chuck be down? And even if it is down 20% from it's last year's average, that's still a 2.1.

Wouldn't that be enough?

Sunday Night Football aside that seems really light on content...even more so since you only listed 6 programs...and one of them (SVU) you listed twice. I have to say...I'm a bit worried about what will happen to NBC. Has a network ever gone into a new season with so few returning shows?

NBC would be wise to scrap practically everything. Get rid of the Silverman leftovers. Spend a fortune in development and actually DEVELOP! It's the only way to crawl out of their hole.

This will not be a rumor for long. I hope it is a good move because I love CHUCK.

The Biggest Loser, SVU, Dateline, Sunday Night Football and L&O SVU and The Office all seem safe for now. It will be interesting to see what happens.

TDL, they also have the Office and (maybe) 30 Rock.

"But then let’s say Parenthood gets a 3.4 and Persons Unknown gets a 3.2. What will happen to Chuck then? Those are optimistic numbers since NBC can’t pull anything right now"
No,the only way that will happen is if Parenthood and Persons Unknown air on a network that isn't NBC.

Robert my question is do you think NBC will actually go as far as to cancel everything (or close to everything)? I mean right now it seems NBC has nothing that can carry over to the 2010-2011 season save for SVU, Leno, Dateline, and (possibly) Chuck if it does well enough.

Since everything on NBC is down versus last year, I'm not looking for Chuck to premiere all that well. at some point if pretty much everything else is doing poorly that doesn't necessarily favor Chuck, it just favors NBC getting rid of pretty much everything.

Wednesday at 8pm is good now, but later in the year will be Idol.

The best spot for Chuck is Wednesday nights at 8PM. It could actually *win* the timeslot.

The Wednesday 8:00 time slot would be perfect because for me I use that time to play catch up with other shows that I have on the DVR. The CBS shows (Old Christine/Gary Unmarried) and ABC (Hank/Middle) have no interest to me. This would be the strongest slot if NBC brings Chuck back early.
I would LOVE to see Chuck back but NBC has to start promoting it NOW for Wednesdays at 8:00.

Bill - Good analogy. Hopefully Chuck does pull a 2.0 or better but if it returns as early as March, its likely to get eaten alive even in the demo. Hopefully somehow people tune in to Chuck. With Mercy and Trauma not starting out great, Southland axed, Law & Order in its possibly final season, and Heroes slipping it seems NBC only has SVU for 2010-2011. NBC could still renew Law & Order due to lack of dramas, and renew Heroes due to lack of common sense.

I think the lowest the series has ever done is 2.1. That's from memory so I might be wrong. But why do we think that it will do worse now? Because NBC is weak? It's going to be weak in March too.

I think that Chuck's advantage is it's rabid base and it's subsidy from Subway.

The Olympic promotion would be nice. If it happens. But it also will have been off the air for 10 months.

And, again, what will NBC have as an alternative? It has to run something in Mondays at 8:00, right? As long as Chuck is it's best alternative, why would it be in trouble?

Bill, it doesn't have to beat House. But it probably still needs to do pull a 2.0 or better. I could be wrong, but I don't see that as a gimme at this point based on the current state of NBC viewing.