Final pre-strike episodes set for Jan. 24

"Chuck" is returning to NBC, for all of one night.

The show's final two episodes for the foreseeable future will air at 8 and 10 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 24, the network announced Wednesday. They'll be sandwiched around an episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice" and take the place of comedy repeats (at 8) and "ER" (at 10).

They also represent the end of "Chuck's" initial 13-episode order and the last episodes completed before the onset of the writers' strike two months ago. NBC has picked up the series for a full season, ensuring that, whenever the strike does end, the show will be back.

When last we saw the show in early December, Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) had reached an uneasy, "just friends" stage in their CIA asset-handler relationship, while Casey (Adam Baldwin) got orders from higher-ups that with the new version of the Intersect computer nearly ready, it would soon be time to eliminate the old one: Chuck himself.

"Chuck" averaged about 8.7 million viewers per week during its fall run. In NBC's favorite demographic of adults 18-49, it drew a 3.5 rating, second in its timeslot to ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."