News: CHUCK Renewed for Season Five

Honestly, I did not think this day would come. Multiple online sources reported that NBC will be renewing Chuck for a 13-episode fifth season. After the initial shock wore off, and knowing full well that we need to wait for official word from the Peacock, I have to admit that I'm a little torn about this move.

On the one hand, I've been on the Chuck bandwagon since day one, and it's always been a special show that just never caught on, but its loyal fan base (and the dire state of NBC) some how kept it around when everyone wrote it off. Today was a giant middle finger to the haters on the 'net who got way too much joy out of kicking Chuck while it was down, but apparently not out. I fully get that the show is not for everyone, but I will never understand why people put so much time and effort tearing other people's shows apart. I wasn't a fan of The Chicago Code, but I didn't cheer FOX for axing it like so many Chuck haters were ready to do. The fact that our favorite Nerd Herder defied the odds is satisfying from a "ha-ha" standpoint.

But, I'm not sure petty gloating is enough justification to be fully behind NBC's decision to bring Chuck back. The ratings were beyond horrible during the second half of the season, and from a business perspective, Chuck should have been cancelled. That's just the truth of it all. Yet here we are. Maybe Warner Bros. is doing everything short of paying NBC to air Chuck next year to pad its total number of episodes. Maybe NBC's developmental slate was just that bad. Either way, we're in for more Chuck...let's just hope Season 5 is better than Season 4.

Anyone who's been reading my recaps of the show knows that I haven't been in love with it for most of the season. I don't know if the writers are running out of ideas or the slashed budget led to underwhelming episodes, but something was off this time around. All of the characteristics that made the show special seemed to be absent for most of the season, but we did get brief glimpses of its former glory, so I'm optimistic that Fedak and Schwartz can right the ship (Side Note: With shows like Human Target and possibly No Ordinary Family canned, maybe some of the old Chuck writers can return home.)

So what's next? The popular theory on the interwebs is shipping Chuck off to Friday nights where it can go head to head with fellow cult favorite (and WB product), Fringe. A move to Friday makes sense, but having these two shows go up against each other just seems cruel. The crazy thing about this move is Chuck could face off against other WBers, Nikita or Supernatural. Heck, if ABC brings back V, then we could have an all Warner Bros. Friday.

If I was a betting man, I'd say Chuck will probably end up on Fridays (although NBC could let it continue to be hammered on Mondays), and will come back as a mid-season replacement. As much as I'm a fan, I cannot see NBC putting it on the schedule in the fall since it does not have the numbers to help grow a new show at this point. Since we're bound to get some bombs during the fall, keeping Team Bartowski on the bench until winter makes the most sense. But, that was the plan before and we all know how that ended up.

Regardless, more than likely Chuck is coming back for one more go around, and while I commend NBC for the gutsy move, I'm still weary. Let's hope the risk pays off...and that Season 5 is it once and for all. I love ya Chuck, but you can't keep dodging bullets.