CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games Books TV
Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Television

2007-08 Midseason
2007 Fall Season
2007 Summer Season
2006-07 Midseason
2006 Fall Season
2006 Summer Season
2005-06 Midseason
2005 Fall Season
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss TV In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Movies & Specials

A Raisin in the Sun 82
ABC, 2/25

 

Upcoming & Recent Series Premieres

New Amsterdam 63
Fox, Monday

Unhitched 44
Fox, Sunday

Oprah's Big Give 49
ABC, Sunday

quarterlife 53
NBC, Sunday

 



Chuck
SERIES: NBC, Monday 8:00p (60 minutes)

Chuck
Critic Score
Metascore: 74 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.7 out of 10
based on 26 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?
based on 82 votes
read user comments
rate this tv show

Starring Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, and Matthew Bomer

From a retail hack who sells computers to a hunted man with a computer in his brain. Chuck's life changes when an old college friend sends him an e-mail that chucks him into the world of spies.

GENRE(S): Action / Adventure, Comedy
CREATED BY: Josh Schwartz
FIRST AIR DATE: September 24, 2007

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
Cute, creative and slick, this is one of the best new shows of the fall season.
Read Full Review
88
USA Today Robert Bianco
In a sense, Monday's promising premiere is the first in a three-part introduction, with each episode building on and improving upon the one before.
Read Full Review
88
New York Daily News David Bianculli
Chuck sounds like a regrettably derivative idea - a remake of "Jake 2.0." But it's not. Chuck is a blast.
Read Full Review
83
Entertainment Weekly Gillian Flynn
While there are a a few too many "awkward-guy moments," there are enough genuinely sweet ones to balance them out. [28 Sep 2007, p.93]
80
LA Weekly Robert Abele
It's actually a kick to watch. Its joys are broader and self-consciously zanier than the CW series.
Read Full Review
80
Variety Brian Lowry
Chuck possesses modest charm, impressive stunt work and another mildly appealing reluctant hero.
Read Full Review
80
Newsday Diane Werts
The real-world intrigue is matched in dramatic flair by Chuck-world jeopardy. His store's fierce assistant-manager competition resounds as fatefully as saving the universe from evil. Which makes the dark light enough and the light dark enough to meld into a tasty escapist treat.
Read Full Review
80
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
The pilot is an especially persuasive hour of action-adventure, but subsequent lower-budget episodes preserve the esprit and suspense.
Read Full Review
80
Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart
The results aren't much different from a video game, for the violence on Chuck is pretty cartoony, but after watching two episodes I’m hooked. This is a fun escapist show.
Read Full Review
80
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
Chases, stunts and explosions fill the funny, flashy adventure.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Tom Shales
The show has a happily palpable likability going for it, a lot of that courtesy of Zachary Levi, who plays the unlikely and in fact unwilling hero.
Read Full Review
80
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
Schwartz's good eye for characters and cutting sense of humor--makes Chuck a thoroughly enjoyable romp.
Read Full Review
80
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
Chuck starts a step slower, with more exposition in the first two episodes and no larger-than-life character like Satan to smooth over that, but by episode three, it's just as assured and entertaining in its own extremely similar way.
Read Full Review
80
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
The series is part spy spoof, part workplace comedy, and it is a genuinely engaging homage to the nerd hero.
Read Full Review
80
Slate Troy Patterson
Their new show has both the nerve to link up twentysomething malaise and 21st-century terror-angst and the good nature to make the proposition look endearing.
Read Full Review
75
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
It's headed in the right direction ... fast, loose and fun.
Read Full Review
70
Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray
"The O.C." team of Josh Schwartz and McG keep this one fast and mostly funny, but it's no "Heroes."
Read Full Review
70
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
Chuck is one of two new fantastical shows premiering Monday on NBC, making a Heroes sandwich. That's fantastical, not fantastic.
Read Full Review
70
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
The pilot is full of dark, dangerous and sexy moments.
Read Full Review
70
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
It's good, not great, and tonight's strong pilot gives way next week to a noticeably less stellar hour.
Read Full Review
63
New York Post Linda Stasi
For reasons too obvious to bother with, NBC managed to take a really terrific and fun premiere and somehow let it morph over the following episodes into just another take-it-or-leave-it show.
Read Full Review
60
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
Chuck is, at its best, cute--and that's not enough to keep up with the big dogs.
Read Full Review
60
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
Still, despite Chuck’s zippy pace and fun dialogue, this nerd-friendly "spy-fi" show from "O.C." creator Josh Schwartz has plot holes you could drive a truck through.
Read Full Review
60
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Levi exudes an everyman appeal that may catch on with viewers, but the show's plots need to grow beyond the action-adventure tropes of 1970s TV if Chuck hopes to avoid being chucked off NBC's prime-time schedule.
Read Full Review
60
PopMatters Roger Holland
A good-natured show with a convincing sense of fun and a likeable cast, Chuck also has the wit, confidence, and grasp of the cultural climate to turn a running joke about a celebrity porn site into a major plot device.
Read Full Review
25
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
A charming but underwhelming pilot.... The second episode is dismal, sucking all the air out of whatever hopes you might have had for that one.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this tv show is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 82 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Susan gave it a10:
A Best Buy spy! How fun!

Donna R. gave it a10:
It's such a sweet show! The characters are charming and likable.

The Swami gave it a10:
Unquestionably the best new series on TV. Quite possibly THE best series on TV today. The writing is superb, acting superb, I love the storylines and the side characters and their stories...this is the only show I watch in real-time instead of Tivo-to-view-later. A+++ is not high enough of a review. For maximum enjoyment watch the episodes in order though. The plot is not necessarily so linear you cannot start midway thru, but some of the side plots and jokes are better understood by watching from the beginning.

James S. gave it a10:
This is the best TV series of the year. Funny and sweet, with characters you would really care for.

Jane K. gave it a10:
Campy and fun, this is The Office meets Alias. Adam Baldwin is hysterical in his deadpan humor, and Zachary Levi is every gals dream geek.

Darrell G gave it a9:
Chuck is awesome! Very clever show with a fresh story idea.

Juan L. gave it a10:
Incredibly witty, and cleverly written. Chuck is a great character that brings the rest of the often aloof cast into brilliance. It's a true adventure comedy.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this tv show in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | BOOKS | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise | Partnerships                                Visit other CNET Networks sites:

Copyright ©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use