"Chuck" may get a break with early return

Above: Cast of "Chuck" celebrates show's fans at Comic-Con in July.

Best news of the day -- though perhaps not for NBC:

Michael Ausiello of EW.com reports that the third season of "Chuck" might get to premiere sooner than the March date that's been bandied about thus far, and it could be as early as late October. The reason: NBC's continued ratings woes and the cancellation recent of "Southland" before new episodes aired. The Peacock network is looking for some ray of hope somewhere, and they've turned to one of my favorite shows -- a show that had been on the fence for renewal.

If "Chuck" does come back sooner rather than later, Ausiello writes, the chances of NBC ordering additional episodes beyond the 13 it initially commissioned increases. "And they increase further if it performs solidly… which for NBC, at this point, means my cat, Mr. Scooch, sits down to watch with me. (Seriously, anything above a 2 rating in the 18-49 demo should do the trick.)"

No word on whether it would return on Mondays to a pair again with the underperforming "Heroes."