Making a Case for "Chuck"

We're approaching the time of the TV season where it'll get down to the wire for bubble shows, shows that are in the gray area between "certain to be canceled" and "certain to be renewed", as the networks prepare to write their schedules for next season. Many of these bubble shows have more things going for/against them than just their ratings, so I'll do some posts analyzing their chances, starting with "Chuck".

Pros:

-It's on NBC, which is in a horrible, horrible state with no successful new shows from this season. Or last season. With Steve Carell leaving The Office and a possible football lockout, they could need more programming hours than they expected rather than relying on new shows, hoping for a hit.

-When it finishes its current season, it will have 78 episodes. A renewal would put it around the number of episodes a show typically needs for syndication, which would bring a huge profit to those involved with the show.

-It's remaining consistent against competition, albeit at low levels. The same cannot be said for many NBC shows and this means NBC could keep it as filler for if a new show fails.

Cons:

-It's current ratings are below the NBC average, even if not by much. It looks like it could be a squeeze on the schedule next year and if it comes down to Chuck vs Harry's Law, Harry's Law would probably win. It's getting slightly better ratings and has a lot more total viewers (which actually are only good for PR purposes, but still a plus for Harry's Law).

-Chuck is owned by WB, so NBC would not actually see money from syndication. However, the prospect of syndication could entice WB to lower the licensing fee to something that would get the show renewed.