Schwartz & Miller To Develop New Show for CBS

THR reports that Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz and producer Matt Miller are teaming up to write a half-hour comedy series for CBS. The project is in the script stage right now, but if it does get picked up to air, it will be Schwartz’s first foray into that format.

The as-yet-untitled project follows a twentysomething newlywed couple, picking up after the couple’s honeymoon. The premise is inspired by Schwartz and Miller’s recent marriages.

Josh Schwartz: The Comic Con Interview

“Emotional and traumatic.” With those words at the Chuck panel, co-creator and executive producer Josh Schwartz had the fans groaning and the Interwebz in a tizzy. Naturally we couldn’t let him get away with that! In the Chuck press room, I immediately jumped on that statement and asked Schwartz to expound on them, which he did. Sort of.

VIDEO: The Chuck Comic Con Panel

NBC has posted the Chuck panel from Comic Con 2009, minus the JEFFSTER! performance (licensing issues). This video will only work the U.S., so apologies to overseas fans for that.

Grab a beverage and a snack, and settle in to watch. If you want the true Comic Con experience, go stand outside for two hours, starting about 2 blocks down the street, and slowly walk to your house. When you get to your front door, let out a cheer and walk quickly (but don’t run!) to your computer, jostling imaginary people on the way to make sure you get the best seat.

PHOTOS: Chuck at Comic Con

While we sort out our own photos from Chuck at Comic Con, the professionals have been getting theirs up on Wireimage for us to view. A handful of photos from the panel are up, plus some from the Wired and EW/Syfy parties. If you have photos you’d like to share, send them to mel@chucktv.net along with how you’d like to be credited.

Chuck vs. Comic Con: Details Announced

With only a month to go until Comic Con, Warner Bros. has released some details about the Chuck panel. Here’s what we know so far: the Chuck panel will happen on Saturday, July 25, most likely at 10AM in Ballroom 20. Confirmed attending are Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Julia Ling, Sarah Lancaster and Adam Baldwin. We’ll see a retrospective highlight reel (nothing from season 3 since they won’t have begun filming yet) plus “a special surprise from some of your favorite characters!” Can you say Jeffster concert?!? Also, Chuck cheerleader Alan Sepinwall will be moderating the panel, so you know it’s going to be extra awesome.

Liz, siskj and I will be there covering the Chuck-ness live. We plan to organize some sort of get-together for Chuck fans as well, possibly Saturday night. If you’ll be at Comic Con and are interested, leave a comment so we can get a feel for how many people want to meet.

Josh Schwartz on Chuck’s Third Season

Ausiello at EW.com has an exclusive interview with Josh Schwartz talking about some of the rumors swirling around Chuck’s third season, plus the promise of more info in a future column:

I don’t know about you, but NBC’s official renewal of Chuck has been the highlight of upfront week for me. (ABC’s cancellation of According to Jim finishes a very close second.) But it’s time to bring the victory celebrations to a close and get down to business — the business of asking questions. Will a tighter budget lead to a less awesome (and populated) show? Does the massive Subway deal mean an end to Sarah’s yogurt shop? Will the midseason launch kill the show’s momentum? Will Chuck and Sarah start dating for real? Will exec producer Josh Schwartz answer all of these and then some in the following exclusive Q&A? I can tackle that last one: Yes!

NBC said the show’s budget will remain unchanged from last season. I’m hearing different. What’s the deal?
JOSH SCHWARTZ: I can tell you that [Warner Bros.] asked us to make budget cuts to meet a decrease in the NBC license fee. That’s how it was presented to me. That’s as far as I know. My job is to then be able to produce the show at the number the studio is able to deficit it for.

How will the cuts affect what we see?
SCHWARTZ: Hopefully, you won’t be able to tell. I don’t think the look of the show is going to change. We might have certain episodes where Chuck’s mission is such that we don’t get the opportunity to go to the Buy More [as much]. We love our cast and, obviously, we want to use them as much as possible in as many episodes as possible.

I heard Julia Ling [Anna] might not return. True?
SCHWARTZ: No. We have plans for Anna to return.

Has she been taken off contract?
SCHWARTZ: We actually haven’t finalized all of our actor deals yet. It’s all being sorted out. But, like I said, we’re going to do whatever we can to try to keep the ensemble together.

Will the show’s central trio be in every episodes?
SCHWARTZ: Yes. Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are in all episodes.

Will Sarah be working at a Subway next season?
SCHWARTZ: [Laughs] You know, I don’t know the full details of the Subway integration yet. I know it will be significant. Chuck is a show that happens to be well positioned for effortless product integration, especially because Chuck works at an electronics shop in a strip mall. If Sarah or someone worked at a Subway it would hopefully be no more intrusive or unrealistic than Liz Lemon working at NBC.

Are you concerned at all about the show being off the air for 10 months?
SCHWARTZ: It was really a tough choice that the network faced: Put us on Friday or [hold us until] midseason. I really believe Chuck is the little show that could. Our fans are clearly passionate, clearly loyal, and hopefully all we’ll do is get them more and more [excited] for our return. And we’ll come up with fun ways of stoking the fans throughout the fall. We also have something very, very fun planned for Comic-Con this year.

How about a season 3 spoiler in honor of the show’s renewal?
SCHWARTZ: The biggest thing, obviously, will be dealing with the ramifications of how we ended the season. What does it mean for Chuck [and] how will it manifest itself? And I think for anyone who is concerned that he’s no longer going to be the Everyman, or an accidental hero, fear not.

Will Chuck and Sarah start the season off as a full-fledged couple?
SCHWARTZ: I don’t want to give anything away, but obviously, Chuck having the Intersect in his head will severely complicate their ability to be a couple. Oh, here’s something: Look for… [the rest of this answer will run in this week's Ask Ausiello, posting tonight.]

Really? For who?
SCHWARTZ: [The rest of this answer will run in this week's Ask Ausiello, posting tonight].

Male or female?
SCHWARTZ: Gosh, isn’t it more fun to tease?

I guess.
SCHWARTZ: Teasing is what you’re good at.

‘Chuck’ Decision Delayed for Another Week?

EW’s Ausiello tweeted late yesterday that NBC might not announce their decision about Chuck’s third season on Monday, but not to read too much into it. Now comes an article from E!Online quoting Zac (who quotes Josh Schwartz) that it could be a week or more before NBC makes the announcement:

“I thought we were going to hear about it this Monday because NBC’s announcing a bunch of its schedule, but I just got an email from [Chuck executive producer] Josh Schwartz, and he said stay positive, [but] we’re not going to find out on Monday. It could be another week or two. They’re making their final tallies and decisions.”

“I don’t envy the job of anyone at NBC or any network to have to make those calls,” he told us. “It’s a very difficult thing to do, especially in television nowadays, even trying to get a solid idea of how many people watch. It’s so difficult between live and DVR and videotapes and Internet streaming and downloading and all that. And really, the concept of television has always been ‘advertising money makes the shows,’ and when people stop watching advertising because they’re just going blip-blip, blip-blip [through the commercials] or watching online, you can’t blame the companies for not wanting to put their money into it. Because it’s like, what’s the point? Nobody’s watching the commercials.”

What does that mean for us? We keep the Watch/Buy/Share/Write campaign going. If you haven’t sent in your post-finale letters and Subway receipts, do it now. Watch Chuck on NBC.com and Hulu. We’re still optimistic that NBC won’t be able to ignore a campaign that proves that Chuck fans are willing to support their advertisers. Stay tuned to ChuckTV.net for the latest!

Welcome to Rockville, CA!

The latest project from the fertile mind of Josh Schwartz is now showing on a monitor near you! Rockville, CA is a web-series set in a rock club in L.A. and follows the lives of a group of twenty-somethings who frequent the club for various reasons. Are Deb and Hunter the new Sarah and Chuck? Is Hugh the new Casey? Is The Douche the new Jeff?

The series was directed by Norman Buckley, editor/director on Chuck and is co-produced by Alex Patsavas, Chuck’s amazing music supervisor. Rockville’s  first four episodes, available now, feature performances by Nico Stai, The Kooks, The Broken West, and Duke Spirit. 

WonderCon Videos and Photos

Chucksters converged on WonderCon today to see Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez and Adam Baldwin talk about the show. Photos and videos are coming in thick and fast; we’ll try to keep up!

Read more

Have a Question for Josh Schwartz?

Do you have a burning question for Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz? The fine folks at Warner Bros. are giving fans the opportunity to ask him anything (within reason) about his projects, including Chuck. You’ll need to register on The WB boards to post your query, but registration is free and fast. Remember to keep your questions respectful and succinct to have the best chance at getting a response.

NOTE: You need to go to the WB boards to ask your questions. Questions posted here will not be submitted by WB for Josh to read. Closing comments.

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