TV News Round-Up

Because the network upfronts are on the horizon, lots of tidbits about next year’s schedules are beginning to surface, particularly from much-beleaguered NBC.

• Hooray, a fourth season of Chuck! Thirteen episodes, and no word yet on whether it will be a fall or winter premiere, but it’s just so nice to not be fretting about Chuck’s existence long into the summer. I think it’ll be interesting to see the dynamic between Chuck and NBC’s new spy-couple J.J. Abrams project, The Undercovers, and I can only hope that something as high-profile as a J.J. Abrams show might help throw a little attention back onto Chuck.

• With the news that NBC has renewed Chuck, Parenthood, and all of its Thursday comedies come the news that finally (finally!), Heroes has been put out of its misery. Did you even realize that show was still on? How about Trauma or Mercy, both of which were also cancelled? Here’s hoping NBC manages to put its act together next year.

• Although buried in NBC news, it’s also been suggested that ABC is cancelling Romantically Challenged, FlashForward, and (very sadly) Better Off Ted. None of these come as real surprises given the ratings, but I certainly will mourn the loss of Phil and Lem.

• Okay, okay, I was saving the craziest one for last: NBC has cancelled Law and Order. I’m just gonna let that sit there for a second.…  Yeah. A few things to keep in mind – Law and Order: SVU will still be around, and there will also be the inauguration of a Law and Order: Los Angeles version, so it’s not as though the franchise will suddenly disappear. Still, it’s the end of a very long-running, defining, successful, and culturally influential era. Relieve some of the show’s most familiar devices on this slideshow, and take a moment to do a nice “CHUNG CHUNG” the next time someone says something dramatic.