The third season of Chuck is one of the most anticipated television events of the forthcoming months for us, especially given just what a spectacular job was done at the end of season two. But what can we look forward to from season three? Here's our round-up of what we know.

Be warned: spoilers lie ahead...

1. First and foremost, you can expect a whole lot of Subway in the new series. The show was on the verge of being cancelled, and it's believed to be the commercial link up with Subway that's saved it from the axe. As such, Subway will be expecting some fairly sizeable integration into the show, and the smart money is on Sarah taking a job at a Subway store. That said, the Orange Orange is still reportedly in business when the season kicks off.


2. The current episode order is for 13, down from the 23 (including the 3D episode for season two). Again, this is down to budgetary constraints, as the overall show budget had to be cut in order to get the third season order. However, should the show come back early, and further episodes be ordered, it's not impossible that a good injection of cash will follow.


3. The current return slot for the show is March 2010, once the Winter Olympics are out of the way. However, there's been speculation in recent weeks that, thanks to the underwhelming performance of some of NBC's shows this season (and Southland has already been cancelled), it may yet be brought back a whole lot earlier, possibly in the next few weeks. Production started at the normal time, so it's not a big problem were the broadcast of the show brought forward six months. The current thinking though appears to be a January or February return for Chuck.


4. There's a new character heading for the Buy More, by the name of Hannah. Chuck will first meet her, apparently, on a flight to France, and circumstances conspire to bring her to the Buy More employee roster. And when she arrives, will Morgan be having a bit of a crush on her? And how will Anna react? Plus, will Hannah have feelings for Chuck? These are some of the quandries ahead...


5. The new season is going to pick up the action in the immediate aftermath of the terrific season two finale, which means that Chuck has just realised that he's got his kung-fu powers. That said, it's going to take him some time to get used to his powers, that aren't working very well in the early stages of season three.


6. Superman himself, Brandon Routh, is down to appear in at least six episodes of season three, and he's going to be playing Chuck's mentor. He's also an expert on The Ring, which we'll be finding more about.


7. The first episode of season three is entitled Chuck Vs The Pink Slip. Trouble at the Buy More, we wonder? We know that when the season commences, Tony Hale's Emmett Milbarge will still be firmly in charge. Big Mike is still apparently working in the store, though. Will he get his former job back, we wonder?


8. The narrative of season three is going to go deeper into the backgrounds of both Sarah and particularly Casey, and hopefully will throw up a few skeletons in their respective closets...


9. Jeffster will be returning. And on top of that, rumours suggest that Armand Assante and Vinnie Jones are among the guest stars on the proposed casting list. Assante? Good. Vinnie Jones? Not good. Not that we'd say that to his face, of course. Chevy Chase, meanwhile, will not be returning (for fairly obvious reasons).


10. Further episode titles are, for episodes two to eight: Chuck Vs The Three Words, Chuck Vs The Angel Of Death, Chuck Vs Operation Awesome (we look forward to this one), Chuck Vs First Class, Chuck Vs the Nacho Sampler, Chuck Vs The Mask and Chuck Vs the Nose. Also, one episode in the season is set to be directed by Zachary Levi, we understand.

And here's an 11th, which you might want to file strictly under the heading of rumours...

11. Could Bryce Larkin still make a comeback? One or two rumours are suggesting that may well be the case. We don't see it ourselves, though...

Want more Chuck spoilers? Spoiler Junkie has a ton of them right here.