Chuck saved! (but at a bargain price)

According to multiple reports (at TV Week, Variety and Entertainment Weekly), and according to everything I've heard, the deal to renew "Chuck" for 13 episodes is basically done. It's not "official"-official just yet, and hopefully once it is (likely tomorrow), I can interview someone on the show about it, but it's coming back.

That's the good news, but as Ausiello notes:

Here's the bad news: The 13-episode pickup came after Warner Bros. agreed to make significant budget concessions, including scaling back the number of episodes several members of the show's stellar supporting cast will appear in and, per one insider, possibly eliminating one actor altogether (R.I.P. Anna Wu?). The show is also expected to cut two of its staff writers.

Now, lots of shows are coming back next year (and/or new shows are starting out) with reduced orders, and with tighter budgets than scripted series traditionally get. (A slashed budget was one of the pre-requisites for the "Dollhouse" renewal, for instance.) That's just the way things are going in this economy. I have faith that Fedak, Schwartz and company can make the show work on a tighter budget, and maybe, if the ratings are decent enough (and compared to some of what NBC has aired since the "Chuck" finale, "Chuck" looks like a world-beater for them), that 13-episode order becomes 22.

But either way, "Chuck" is coming back. I feel very happy about that. More Awesome! More Casey! More Sarah! More Jeffster!

Life is good.