NBC renews 'Chuck' for a fifth season

Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) in NBC's "Chuck"

The spy with a computer in his head has dodged another bullet. NBC made its official today, announcing “Chuck” will be back for a fifth season.

According to multiple reports, the fifth season will consist of 13 episodes and will be the series' last.

“Chuck vs. The Cliffhanger,” the fourth season finale--which could have easily been the series finale--will air Monday, May 16, at 8 p.m.

NBC also recently renewed “Parenthood” and “Harry's Law,” while canceling “The Event.” Also notable, the network passed on David E. Kelley's “Wonder Woman” pilot.

“Chuck” is the second low-rated but critically appreciated show on my weekly schedule to get picked up despite the odds, the other being FOX's “Fringe.”

The quirky comedy-that-could features Zachary Levy as the title character, who after getting all of the CIA's secrets uploaded into his head, becomes a...unique spy.

“Chuck” has now fought off cancelation each of the last three season, most notably after its sophomore season when it was helped by the “Save Chuck” campaign, which urged fans to visit Subway restaurants, a product placement sponsor, the day of the finale. I honestly had given up most hope of renewal this season after the show's ratings fell to historic lows over the past several months.

Because of its multiple close-calls, “Chuck” has already had four or five episodes which could have served as a series finale (including Monday's episode), so should today's reports prove true, they will have all the practice they need to wrap up the story right. And honestly, having a firm number of episode will probably be for the best, so they don't have to adjust mid-stream on how far they need to stretch their stories.