I don’t know why NBC is so insistent about calling its new show, “Chuck,” a drama. It’s not a drama. It might have hints of drama; ultimately, though, it’s an action-comedy…with considerable emphasis on the comedy, thanks to the tag-team efforts of Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez. You might know Levi from his work on the ABC comedy, “Less than Perfect”…but, then again, as Levi himself admits, you may not. (When referencing the show during the panel, he began by saying, “For anybody who watched ‘Less Than Perfect’…so, what, probably 5 or 10 of you…?”) Gomez, however, comes off stints on “Invasion” and “Without A Trace,” but even without a solid comedic background, he nonetheless comes across a lot like Seth Green on coke. (That’s a good thing…or, at least, I think it is, anyway.)
In the long run, though, most people will be interested in “Chuck” because it’s the handiwork of Josh Schwartz, late of “The O.C..” Certainly, that was the case with several of the reporters in attendance, one of whom brought up the fact that Chuck works in a Best-Buy-like store, then asked, “Is the store big enough that it will one day have a stage on which indie bands can perform?”
“Absolutely,” said Schwartz, with a grin. “In-store promotion, we’ll get it done.”
Going on, however, Schwartz made it clear what appealed to him about “Chuck.” “After ‘The O.C.,’ I was definitely looking to do something that would have more of a genre element to it, but still be able to do it in the style in which I like to write and the kind of characters that I very much enjoy. And Chris (Fedak, co-producer) and I, we went to film school together. We sat down, and he had the initial concept for the show, which I thought was really interesting and could also
be really funny and would give us really the spine we needed to tell this story and to do it in a way that could speak to the ‘quarter-life’ crisis that our character of Chuck is undergoing and also be able to do it with a lot of humor as well.”
Speaking of humor, it’s clear that Levi learned quite a few comedic chops while on “Less Than Perfect,” whether anyone was watching it or not. When asked if he considered himself to be smart (if not necessarily as smart as his character), Levi responded, “He went to Stanford and is this crazy brain of a guy and can figure out algorithms. I can’t even spell
‘algorithm.’ I always have the excuse that I would’ve gone to college if I had applied myself. So, no, I’m not as smart as Chuck…but I like to think I’m decent, right? Maybe? I hope!”
Executive producer McG (he was behind the “Charlie’s Angels” movies, you know) went on to acknowledge that “Chuck” owes a certain debt to the work of William Gibson…if not necessarily the film version of “Johnny Mnemonic.” “It’s called a seminal performance of Keanu Reeves,” McG said, with a laugh, before explaining that he’s had a long association with that film’s AD staff, who used to tell horror stories about the difficulty of the shoot.
As the panel wrapped up, Schwartz was asked if there was anything he might’ve learned from his experiences on “The O.C.” that he would make a point of not repeating on “Chuck.”
“What are you implying?” he snapped. Then, after offering a smile, he admitted that he’d learned quite a lot during his time on the show. “‘The “O.C.’ was my first experience doing anything that was, you know, out there. It was a great experience, but it was also a tremendous learning experience. So there’s a lot of things that I will take from that and apply here.
“I think most of all, it’s staying focused on the work itself and not trying to worry about all the other things. We have a great group of people that we’re doing the show with. I’m really fortunate to work with Chris and McG and we’re having a blast making this show, and that’s the thing I just real wanted to be able to stay focused on.”
