50 Fun Facts About Chuck

Who created Chuck?

Both attended USC; Fedak pitched the idea and Schwartz, fresh off The O.C., developed it with him. O.C. director McG shot the pilot.

How does the Intersect end up in Chuck Bartowski's brain?

Bryce Larkin, now a CIA agent, stole the merged CIA/NSA database, destroyed the computer and sent the only copy to Chuck as encoded images.

In which California city is the Buy More where Chuck works?

The exterior shots were actually a former Mervyn's in the Fallbrook Mall in West Hills; the interior was built on the Warner Bros. lot.

What is the name of the Buy More's in-store tech-support team that Chuck works on?

NBC even launched NerdHerdHelp.com as a tie-in site with a blog written by Morgan.

Which university expelled Chuck on false cheating charges before the series began?

Bryce framed him to keep him off the CIA's recruitment list, believing spy work would destroy his good-hearted roommate.

Why did Bryce Larkin actually get Chuck kicked out of college?

Five years later Bryce sent him the Intersect anyway, because he knew Chuck's mind could handle it.

Which agency does Major John Casey work for?

Sarah is CIA and Casey is NSA, and the pilot has the two agencies racing each other to Chuck. Casey holds his rank through the Marine Corps.

What cover job does Sarah take near the Buy More in season one?

The Wienerlicious hot-dog stand gave way to the Orange Orange yogurt shop, and Sarah still remembered the Wienerlicious even after losing her memories in the finale.

What is Sarah Walker's real first name, revealed in season three?

She tells Daniel Shaw in 'Chuck Versus the Fake Name' — and Chuck overhears while posing as a hired assassin. Her middle name is Lisa.

What was Sarah's father's line of work?

She introduces him to Chuck as 'Jack Burton'; she spent her childhood moving between cities under aliases and helping with his schemes.

What is John Casey's real name, revealed in 'Chuck Versus the Tic Tac'?

He faked his death as a Marine lieutenant to join the NSA, leaving behind fiancée Kathleen McHugh — and, unknown to him, a daughter named Alex.

Which former president's photo does Casey keep in his apartment and salute?

He addresses the picture as 'Sir,' and his 'Rogues Gallery' target-practice wall features Hitler and bin Laden.

How does Casey typically respond to situations, in a way Chuck has actually numbered?

His one-liners sometimes quote Adam Baldwin's own earlier roles, from Full Metal Jacket's Animal Mother onward.

Casey's daughter Alex ends up dating which character, much to Casey's dismay?

Mekenna Melvin played Alex McHugh from season three on; Morgan also became Buy More manager and, briefly, the Intersect.

What is the nickname of Ellie's husband, Devon Woodcomb?

It comes from his love of extreme sports and his habit of calling everything, including flossing, awesome.

What is the name of the band formed by Buy More employees Jeff and Lester?

Their wedding-crashing 'Mr. Roboto' in the season-two finale is one of the show's signature moments; both specialize in Apple products at work.

Which Die Hard character is revealed to be Big Mike's cousin in 'Chuck Versus Santa Claus'?

Reginald VelJohnson reprised the role for the Buy More hostage episode, one of the show's many action-movie homages.

Which Arrested Development actor played scheming Buy More manager Emmett Milbarge?

Emmett got Big Mike demoted to green shirt, then was murdered in the parking lot by an assassin looking for Chuck.

Which Superman Returns star played CIA agent Daniel Shaw in season three?

Shaw turns to the Ring after learning Sarah's 'red test' kill was his wife, Evelyn; Chuck shoots him in Paris to save her.

Which former James Bond played arms dealer Alexei Volkoff in season four?

Volkoff turns out to be Hartley Winterbottom, a scientist whose Intersect-implanted cover identity took over; his fortune eventually goes to Chuck and Sarah.

Which Terminator star played Chuck's long-lost mother, Mary Elizabeth Bartowski?

Mary spent two decades undercover inside the arms dealer's organization, first as a hostage and then as his favorite agent.

Which Quantum Leap star played Chuck's father, Stephen Bartowski?

Stephen, the Intersect's original inventor known as Orion, left the family eight years before the series began.

Which future White Collar star played Bryce Larkin?

Bryce dies in the season-two finale, 'Chuck Versus the Ring,' trying to destroy the Intersect 2.0 — which Chuck then uploads himself.

Which Matrix actress played Casey's love interest Gertrude Verbanski in season five?

Verbanski Corp is Carmichael Industries' biggest competitor after Chuck and Sarah go freelance.

Which comedy legend played software mogul Ted Roark, season two's big bad?

Roark, an old rival of Chuck's father, was the season's big bad; John Larroquette, Nicole Richie and Jordana Brewster also guested that year.

What is the name of the rogue spy organization that is the main villain of seasons one and two?

Fulcrum sabotaged the replacement Intersect, killing CIA Director Langston Graham; the Ring took over as the threat in season three.

What is the codename Chuck gives himself for spy missions?

The alias became the name of the freelance spy firm, Carmichael Industries, that he and Sarah ran in the final season.

Which band's song 'Short Skirt/Long Jacket' is the Chuck theme?

The 2001 single from Comfort Eagle plays over the opening credits, whose title design earned an Emmy nomination.

Which restaurant chain did fans target in the 2009 'Save Chuck' campaign?

Fan Wendy Farrington organized the 'Finale & Footlong' buy-in for the season-two finale, and Subway ended up striking a sponsorship deal that helped fund season three.

Zachary Levi was filmed leading hundreds of fans to a sandwich shop in which city during the campaign?

The stunt was part of the 'Finale & Footlong' push timed to the season-two finale.

Which candy did Nestlé send to NBC by the thousand-pack in support of the show's renewal?

The 'Have a Heart, Renew Chuck' campaign also raised over ,000 for the American Heart Association on NBC's behalf.

On what night did NBC move Chuck for its fifth and final season?

It had spent four seasons on Mondays at 8; the so-called Friday death slot hosted the 13-episode farewell run ending January 27, 2012.

For what did Merritt Yohnka win back-to-back Primetime Emmys for his work on Chuck?

They were the show's only Emmy wins; the main title design was nominated in 2007 but lost.

In the season-four finale, Chuck and Sarah are given ownership of what, which lets them buy the Buy More?

Hartley Winterbottom signed the arms empire's wealth over to them; they also acquired the secret Castle base underneath the store.

What happens to Sarah in the final episodes of the series?

The finale ends with Chuck telling her their story on the beach from their first 'date' and asking her to trust him, followed by a kiss.

Who was the series' final recurring villain, played by Angus Macfadyen?

Quinn tricks the memory-wiped Sarah into thinking he is her handler and orders her to kill Chuck.

How many episodes made up the final season?

NBC announced the fifth and final season on May 13, 2011; the two-hour finale aired January 27, 2012.

Which superhero did Zachary Levi go on to play in a 2019 film and its 2023 sequel?

He also voiced Flynn Rider in Tangled, singing 'I See the Light' with Mandy Moore.

Yvonne Strahovski later earned Emmy nominations for playing Serena Joy Waterford in which series?

The Australian actress, born Strzechowski, was a relative newcomer when cast as what was then 'Sarah Kent' in February 2007.

Before Chuck, Adam Baldwin was best known to sci-fi fans as Jayne Cobb on which series?

Fedak wrote Casey with Baldwin in mind, and he and Levi were the first two actors cast, in February 2007.

What were Sarah's and Morgan's surnames in the original casting announcements before being changed?

A third character, neighbor and love interest Kayla Hart, was cut before filming because two women pining over Chuck seemed implausible.

Which USA Today poll did Chuck win in 2009 with 54% of 43,000 votes?

It also won E!'s Save One Show contest two years running, taking 52% of the vote in 2010 over One Tree Hill.

Where was the Chuck pilot first shown to an audience, on July 27, 2007?

It had leaked onto torrent sites five days earlier; the series premiered on NBC that September in the Monday 8 p.m. slot.

Which director of Chuck's first hour became an executive producer via his company Wonderland?

Joseph McGinty Nichol had worked with Josh Schwartz on The O.C.; Schwartz and co-creator Chris Fedak both attended USC.

How many episodes did Chuck's first season contain, cut short by the 2007–08 writers' strike?

The final two aired on January 24, 2008; season two also began with a 13-episode order before NBC added a back nine.

Which DC Comics imprint published a six-issue Chuck mini-series starting in June 2008?

Series writer Zev Borow co-wrote it with Peter Johnson, and it included a tooth-brushing PSA from Captain Awesome.

In April 2020 the Chuck cast reunited for a charity Zoom table read organised by which magazine?

They read season three, episode nine as part of the #UnitedAtHome campaign, raising money for Feeding America's COVID-19 fund.

In 2010 Chuck won E!'s online Save One Show contest with what share of the vote?

One Tree Hill was runner-up with 20%, and NBC announced a fourth-season renewal on May 13, 2010.

Roughly how much was NBC expected to spend promoting Chuck ahead of its 2007 launch?

The push included a blog written in the voice of Morgan, yet the show still struggled against established Monday-night hits.

In 2013 Zachary Levi cited broadcasts in which country as a main obstacle to a Chuck movie?

He had floated the idea after Warner Bros. used Kickstarter to revive another shut-down series.