Television News


NBC Orders Full Season for CHUCK & LIFE

By: Jarrod Sarafin, News Editor
Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Source: NBC Press Release

NBC has picked up the freshman dramas "Chuck" (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) and "Life" (Wednesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) for nine more episodes -- or the balance of the 2007-08 season -- it was announced today by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.

"'Chuck' and 'Life' stand out in a crowded TV landscape because they are smart, well-produced series with incredibly talented casts," said Silverman. "Both shows are hitting their stride creatively, have developed loyal audiences and offer unlimited potential to grow throughout the season."

From Rand Ravich (The Astronaut's Wife), Far Shariat (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), and Dan Sackheim -- who directed the pilot of NBC's "Heroes" -- "Life" is a first-year drama about a detective who is given a second chance. Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers") stars as complex, offbeat Detective Charlie Crews, who returns to the force after years in prison, thanks to close friend and attorney Constance Griffiths (Brooke Langton), after serving time in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

The cast also includes Sarah Shahi (Rush Hour 3) as Charlie's skeptical, demanding partner, Robin Weigart (HBO's "Deadwood") as their hard-hitting lieutenant, and Adam Arkin ("Chicago Hope") as former cellmate Ted Early.


"Life" is a Universal Media Studios production. Rand Ravich is executive producer and writer; Far Shariat and Dan Sackheim are executive producers on the series.

From executive producer, Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.") and executive producer-director McG (Charlie's Angels, We Are Marshall) comes "Chuck," a one-hour, action-comedy series about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. When Chuck opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists.

With the government's most precious secrets in Chuck's head, Major John Casey of the National Security Agency (Adam Baldwin) assumes the responsibility of protecting him. His partner is the CIA's top agent (and Chuck's first date in years), Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, "Gone"). They'll try to keep him safe by trading in his pocket protector for a bulletproof vest. Also starring are Joshua Gomez ("Without a Trace") as Morgan Grimes, Chuck's best buddy, and Sarah Lancaster ("What About Brian?") as Chuck's ever-supportive sister, Ellie.

Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak wrote, "Chuck," which is produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.


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Comments/Responses
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TheWatcher • Nov 27, 2007, 03:03am •
Great news!! Now if only we can get a full season order of Journeyman...

ElvisGump • Nov 27, 2007, 03:20am •
I second the sentiment regarding "Journeyman". I wonder though if NBC will sacrifice it because it probably doesn't do well against CSI:Miami. You know how stupid people love those stupid CBS shows.

I hope the writer's strike doesn't make the rest of the season a wash because with a lot of NBC's shows like Chuck, Heroes, Journeyman, Life, (grudgingly) Bionic Woman plus the comedy lineup they have on Thursdays this has been the best year for new tv in a long time.

I miss me some Daily Show most of all...

narpin • Nov 27, 2007, 03:59am •
Journeyman has got to be the single best new show of the season. I hope NBC at least conciders moving it to USA or Sci-Fi before dropping it altogether,

Darklight • Nov 27, 2007, 04:12am •
....Journeyman is kinda boring actually the shows pace has been to slow...instead of making some progress it feels like its slowing down at times... hopefully the later eps will make it more worth watching still haven't given up on it but..


ponyboy76 • Nov 27, 2007, 05:07am •
Well, I have yet to see Journeyman yet, but was home sick yesterday and caught up on the first 9 eps of Chuck. It is a really well done show. It is pretty funny at times. The only negative is the dude who plays Chuck`s best friend. He is a little overly annoying. Its also feels like he is playing Jason Swartzman , who pretty much acts like that in evey movie he is in. Good show though.

daforce • Nov 27, 2007, 05:29am •
Frankly, if Journeyman doesn't reveal his reason for jumping through time by at least the season finale, it may lose what audience it has right now.


Dazzler • Nov 27, 2007, 06:36am •
I hope Journeyman stays also. I think it's moving along rather well. You can't give up everything in one season. Maybe we can get an evil time jumper or something for season two. This show looks great in HD. Esp the credits in the beginning.

jppintar326 • Nov 27, 2007, 06:44am •
I'm glad Chuck is staying on the air. I like it a lot even though I fell asleep on last night's episode. Fortunately, I woke up in time for Heroes. I could care less about Journeyman and Life. They can leave on the air or cancel it, I really don't care either way.

wessmith1966 • Nov 27, 2007, 06:44am •
Great news for me, because these are my favorite new shows. When NBC cancelled "Studio 60" after only one season last year I was really pissed and vowed not to watch NBC anymore. Yeah, that lasted until the new season when Chuck, Life, Journeyman and Bionic Woman came on. I'm still ticked Studio 60 never got a chance to grow, but I'm a big fan of the new shows.

rgtchtiger • Nov 27, 2007, 07:17am •
Does it strike anyone else as odd that a network orders more episodes of a series during the writer's strike? These episodes may never see production, or at least not have the time to produce all their remaining episodes for the season if the strike isn't resolved soon.

I'm not a fan of either of these shows, but I don't dislike them either. At face value, I would think that Chuck has a longer shelf life to it since the idea of a computer nerd working in international spying strikes me as a stronger plot thread than a detective trying to solve his own frame-up.

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