The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded email from an old college friend now working for the CIA.

The message embeds the only remaining copy of a software program containing the United States' greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain, leading the CIA and the NSA to assign him handlers and use him on top-secret missions.

[1][2] Produced by Fake Empire (known as College Hill Pictures, Inc. during the first three seasons before folding afterwards), Wonderland Sound and Vision, and Warner Bros. Television, the series premiered on September 24, 2007, on NBC, airing on Monday nights at 8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.

As the second season finished, flagging ratings put Chuck in danger of cancellation, but fans mounted a successful campaign to encourage NBC to renew the show.

He lives with his sister, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster), and her boyfriend, Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb (Ryan McPartlin), who are doctors that constantly encourage Chuck to make progress in his professional and romantic life.

The NSA's Major John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and CIA Officer Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) are dispatched to investigate.

The main antagonists driving the plot are a series of rogue spy cabals, first internal to the United States intelligence community and then global in scope.

[14] Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin were the first two to be cast in February 2007 in the roles of Chuck Bartowski and veteran NSA agent Major John Casey, respectively.

Fedak always had Baldwin in mind for the role of John Casey and the producers found that the actor was a "perfect fit" for the character during the first casting session.

[17] The Kayla Hart character was dropped before filming because creators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz found it unlikely and too complicated to the storyline that two women would be pining over Chuck.

MyNBC would allow fans to delve inside Chuck's "brain" which will host hot spots of top-secret government information that the title character possesses.

[20] In addition, NBC further announced in July 2007 that tie-in micro websites where fans who log onto Buy-More.net would be directed to NerdHerdHelp.com giving them access to exclusive content of the show and a blog written by the title character's best friend and sidekick, Morgan, would be launched in September 2007.

[22] Despite heavy promotion from NBC and positive critical reviews, Chuck suffered in domestic ratings due to stiff competition from established hits from ABC (Dancing with the Stars), Fox (House), and CBS (How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement) in the Monday 8:00–9:00 pm ET timeslot.

[29] Chuck landed on USA Today's list of the "10 Picks for 2007" and they called Levi's performance "incredibly winning", giving the comedy three-out-of-four stars.

"[42] James Poniewozik of Time magazine says the show is a "delight" and that with the second season the "new episodes quickly jump back in, with higher stakes and sharper jokes.

"[44] He states that "what makes Chuck so special ... is that there's a fundamental warmth and humanity underneath the jokes", with "a cast of appealing characters played by very good actors.

[57] Concerned that the show would not be renewed for a third season, fans launched a "Save Chuck" campaign that gained momentum with the use of social-networking websites like Twitter and Facebook.

[61] Sepinwall also wrote an open letter to NBC on reasons for renewal, while Ryan encouraged fan support by listing the various ways they could contribute to the campaign to save Chuck.

[64] This movement gained support from various cast and crew members, with actor Zachary Levi seen leading hundreds of fans to a Subway restaurant in Birmingham, England.

[59][65] Members of the show's cast and crew participated in a special "rally cry" episode of Chuck vs the Podcast on April 24, 2009, just before the season finale, to encourage fans to keep the campaign going and thank them for their support.

"[73] James Poniewozik of Time magazine wrote about the efficacy of save-this-show columns and fan protests, saying, "The sad fact of advertising-supported television is that, unlike cable, it still rewards breadth, not depth, of viewership.

"[75] In support of the show, Nestlé sent more than 1,000 packs of its Wonka Nerds candies to NBC after Josh Schwartz made such a suggestion to fans in an April 20, 2009, interview with The New York Times.

"[84] When asked about the series' chances of being renewed for a fourth season and whether fans would have to step in again, Angela Bromstad replied, "Well, it's got to maintain, and it depends on development," but said that the show is a "pleasant surprise, and they're doing great work.

[92] Season four guest starred Linda Hamilton, Dolph Lundgren, Harry Dean Stanton, Olivia Munn, Steve Austin, Dave Batista, Summer Glau, Timothy Dalton and Eric Roberts.

The episode was broadcast using the ColorCode 3-D stereoscopy system, and could be viewed by wearing a pair of glasses distributed as part of a national promotion for the movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens", which was sponsored by Intel.

In an aggressive marketing campaign by NBC, the pilot episode was released across a broad range of media from satellite broadcasting to popular social networking websites such as Facebook, shown on United Airlines flights, freely distributed on video on demand on about 30 cable and satellite systems including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Dish Network, on Yahoo, and from Amazon Unbox.

Chuck can also be seen on Virgin Media's On Demand service in association with Warner TV All episodes of Seasons 1 through 5 are available for purchase in the U.S. at the iTunes Store, PlayStation Network, Amazon Video, and Xbox Live Marketplace.

On June 1, 2011, Warner Home Video announced that the fourth season of Chuck release date for both DVD and Blu-ray Disc was September 6, 2011, but this was changed to October 11, 2011.

[127] It also includes a public service announcement on brushing one's teeth from Captain Awesome and two gag adventures with Morgan based on film noir and The Odyssey.

[128] In March 2013, Levi told Entertainment Weekly that Warner Brothers' use of Kickstarter to fund previously shut-down TV series could possibly open the door for a Chuck film.