Chuck

CHICAGO – If television shows were deemed a success or failure based on the number of emails, comments, and call-ins to radio shows that were sent on their behalf, NBC’s “Chuck” would be one of the biggest programs of the last two decades. Every time we wrote about it or discussed it on the radio show, people got excited. The show didn’t have many fans, but they were LOYAL and that’s why it stayed on the air much longer than it should have based on pure ratings numbers and that’s why WB has treated fans right through five Blu-ray releases.

CHICAGO – There have been a number of casualties of the debacle of “The Jay Leno Show” but one has to believe that were NBC not in such dire straits when it comes to ratings (an increasingly depressing situation for the network with new lows nearly every week) that “Chuck” would have been canceled years ago. The program has been on “bubble watch” since its first season, when it dipped below 60th place in the weekly ratings. And yet here we are, reviewing the fifth-season premiere of the show that simply wouldn’t die.

CHICAGO – The slow trickle of news regarding NBC cancellations and renewals has finally burst the dam and we have the entire Fall schedule to present along with descriptions of the new programs and time/day changes for several of your favorites.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on May 14, 2011 to discuss TV news including the cancellation of “The Chicago Code,” “The Event,” and more; the renewals of “Happy Endings,” “Harry’s Law,” and more; the fate of “The Office”; the hiring of Ashton Kutcher to star on “Two and a Half Men.”

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Jimmy & Jen on 102.3 XLC in Chicago on May 11, 2011 for an interview about current television news including the cancellation of “The Chicago Code,” the predicted renewal of “Chuck,” the quality of “30 Rock,” and much more.

CHICAGO – We all saw this one coming. NBC has officially canceled “Outsourced,” as we predicted they would, following the cancellations this week of “The Event” and “Law & Order: Los Angeles.”

CHICAGO – TV By the Numbers is reporting that the rumor that NBC had renewed “Chuck” is definitely true and they have ordered a 13-episode new season while showing low-rated “The Event” the door.

CHICAGO – One of the weirdest pre-upfronts weeks in a long time continues as sources are reporting that NBC will renew “Parenthood,” as HollywoodChicago.com predicted, but will not include the already-buzzed “Wonder Woman” when their schedule is announced on Monday.

CHICAGO – We won’t know for sure until Sunday at the earliest (when NBC holds a press conference call about their official Monday fall schedule announcement), but several outlets are reporting that, drum roll please, “Chuck” is coming back. The annual bubble show that this critic predicted would get the death-sentence reprieve has been saved yet again.

We got these two right. In our feature earlier this week predicting what would happen at the NBC Upfronts on Monday, we predicted that “Harry’s Law” would get a second season and that “Law & Order: Los Angeles” would not and this is exactly what TV By the Numbers is hearing has been made official (as has the expected pick-up of “Wonder Woman”).