There’s a ton of TV news breaking today as the networks start to unveil their shows at their Upfronts presentations (and I’ll try to get as much of it up as I can), but first and foremost is what I and many have been waiting for:

CHUCK HAS BEEN SAVED!!

So after a few million of us have exhaled, leave us analyze what this means for a second.  Yes, Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Morgan and company are back…for a 13-episode order.  Good news indeed…and somewhat worrisome news.  Chuck had been flirting with low ratings and cancellation for months, which prompted the Peacock to decrease its order, and with a smaller production budget for the show.  Smaller budgets for shows are becoming the norm for this new season, but many are still receiving full season orders.  So while it’s wonderful that Chuck will at least be given to wrap things up next season should its ratings not improve significantly, 13 episodes bodes that if they don’t improve, another sandwich campaign will be in order later this year.

But I’ll take it. My thinking is that the steps taken to change the direction of the show, namely Chuck’s new super secret agent Intersect and Chuck’s and Morgan’s departure from the Buy More, will probably mean a reduction in the cast and tighter storylines centering more on the Bartowski family nucleus.  That’s not a surprise as even if Chuck weren’t having the ratings issues, the Buy More scenario couldn’t have been sustained forever.  Still, I hope that Jeff, Lester ande Big Mike can make some occasional appearances.

In the meantime, kudos to NBC for doing the rare thing and listening to a minority of (albeit rabid) fans.  And congrats to the Save Chuck! campaign.