Chuck

I have quite the epic love/hate relationship with NBC.  If NBC and I were characters on a TV show, we'd be the couple who bickers non-stop before eventually falling into bed together for a wild night of passion.  I have to respect the network for supporting shows like Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock and The Office, but I also loathe them for resurrecting junk like American Gladiators and Knight Rider when they could be taking creative risks.  NBC has a split personality, and that makes our relationship rather complicated.

As if to prove that they have no desire to fix this problem, NBC has announced that they've ordered more episodes of one of their best shows and one of their worst.  The good news is that Chuck will have a full second season consisting of 22 episodes.  The bad news is that America's Got Talent won't be going away anytime soon.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first.  Despite the fact that it's pure torture to watch and bloated beyond belief, America's Got Talent has been a ratings smash this summer.  The series is averaging over 13 million viewers, which is a 16 percent increase over last year's ratings.  With numbers like that it's no surprise that the series will be returning for a fourth season next year.  America just can't get enough of watching David Hasselhoff heap praise on tuneless 11-year-old folk singers.

As for Chuck, the network originally renewed it for a 13-episode second season with the option to pick up nine additional episodes.  This happens all the time in Hollywood, but most networks wait to see how a show performs in the ratings before determining if they want additional installments.  NBC's decision to order nine more episodes before season 2 begins is either a sign that the network has great faith in Chuck, or a sign that they have little faith in their new pilots.  Chuck wasn't exactly a ratings smash in its first season, but maybe NBC expects the guest star-heavy second year to pull in impressive numbers.

Chuck returns to NBC on Monday, September 29, while America's Got Talent will wrap up its current season October 1.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)